


Let The Storm Rage On

by Alice_Writes_Stuff



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Alternate Universe - Frozen (Disney Movies) Fusion, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28182063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Writes_Stuff/pseuds/Alice_Writes_Stuff
Summary: Royal siblings Violet and Klaus Baudelaire were close when they were children- until an accident caused by Violet’s unpredictable ice powers prompted their parents to separate them. When their parents perish in a terrible storm, however, the siblings are reunited. But after Violet’s coronation ends in disaster and a curse befalls their kingdom, Klaus must team up with an unlucky ice collector, his pet reindeer and a magically animated snowbaby in order to retrieve his sister and break the curse.
Relationships: Klaus Baudelaire & Sunny Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire & Violet Baudelaire, Klaus Baudelaire/Carmelita Spats, Klaus Baudelaire/Duncan Quagmire
Comments: 22
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue- Frozen Heart

Duncan

It had been Quigley’s idea to go and follow the ice collectors. Quigley always wanted to explore, to go beyond the world of their small cottage and into the unknown. It always worried their mother, who always seemed terrified that one day, Quigley would disappear into the woods and never return.

What she didn’t know, of course, was that it was not Quigley she should've been worried about losing…

“Come on, guys!” Quigley called. “We’ll lose them!”

“This is stupid!” Isadora whined, as the three of them made their way through the forest behind the ice collectors. “Why are we even doing this?”

“Don’t be such a baby, Izzy!” Quigley said. “Come on, we won’t be long!”

Finally, the three of them reached the frozen river where the ice collectors were already at work. One of the collectors, on seeing the three children, offered to let them have a go at harvesting a couple of blocks themselves. Duncan was interested in seeing how the process worked, but Quigley and Isadora weren’t.

“Why don’t I take Isadora home,” Quigley suggested, “and come back to keep you company once I’m done?”

It was the sort of solution that their mother would never approve of, but it was one that worked for the three triplets. It seemed harmless, too- after all, it wasn’t like Duncan was being left completely on his own out here, and Quigley would be coming back for him. What was the worst that could happen?

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Duncan said. “You should take Moxie with you, too,” he added, referring to their pet reindeer, who had come with them. Moxie, however, seemed determined to stay with Duncan, as she moved closer to him as soon as he suggested she go with the others. “Suit yourself!” he said, ruffling her soft grey fur.

An hour or so passed- enough time for Quigley to have made it home, but not enough time for him to make it back- and Duncan was bored now. The ice collectors were too absorbed in their work to be much good for conversation, and Duncan was too little to be much good at the work. He decided to leave, and start heading home- at the very least, he could meet Quigley halfway, and they could be home all the sooner.

He hadn’t been back on the main road home for long, though, when three horses galloped past- a trail of ice stretching out behind one of them.

“Ice?” he asked, reaching out to touch the cold trail. Now, if Quigley was plagued by a desire to see everything, then Duncan was plagued by a desire to understand everything. He had never come across a mystery or unanswered question that he didn’t want to know about, and so, before he could think better of it, he climbed up onto Moxie’s back. “Come on, Moxie, let’s go after them!”

And so, in the end, it was Duncan who disappeared into the woods never to be found, not Quigley- a fact that would haunt the other Quagmire brother for the rest of his life…

Klaus

While Duncan had been working with the ice collectors, another young boy was having trouble sleeping. Five-year-old Prince Klaus Baudelaire, youngest child of the king and queen of Arendelle, was too distracted by the bright lights in the sky, which he could see through his window, to even try to get to sleep.

Quickly, he climbed out of bed, and wandered over to where his big sister Violet was sleeping. Violet was about two years older than him, with the same dark brown hair- although hers was much longer, of course- that Klaus had. Her eyes were different, though- a strange, icy blue.

“Violet!” Klaus said, gently shaking her shoulder. “Violet! Wake up, wake up, wake up!”

“Klaus, go back to sleep!” Violet replied, opening one strange, icy eye.

“I just can’t!” Klaus exclaimed, flopping down somewhat dramatically on the bed beside her. “The sky’s awake, so I’m awake, so we have to play!”

“Go play by yourself,” Violet grumbled, giving Klaus a gentle, but pointed shove. Klaus was undeterred, though- not when he knew exactly what to say if he wanted to make his sister play with him.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” he asked. That time, both of Violet's icy blue eyes opened wide.

They had to be quiet, since they weren’t supposed to be up this late. Once they got into the main ballroom, though, Klaus forgot all about being quiet.

“Do the magic!” he cried. “Do the magic!”

Sure enough, Violet waved her hands, a small cloud of white snowflakes forming between them.

“Ready?” she asked, and Klaus nodded. Violet sent the cloud up, and within minutes, the ballroom was covered in snow. “Watch this!” Violet said, stamping one foot on the ground. Ice spread out beneath her foot, covering the floor.

“That’s amazing!” Klaus exclaimed, sliding about a little awkwardly.

The children continued to play, Violet creating a small snow-person with a body made out of two large snowballs, with a smaller one on top for the head. She tied a bright yellow ribbon round its neck, and gave it a face with a few pieces of coal and a carrot from the kitchens, drawing four triangles below its mouth, as though giving it four sharp teeth.

“Hi, I’m Sunny!” she said, in an exaggerated high-pitched voice. “And I like biting things!”

“Sunny’s a bit stupid!” Klaus replied. “Who likes biting things?”

“This is why Mama and Papa don’t have any more kids besides us,” Violet said, shaking her head. "They know you'd just be mean to another baby, just like you're being mean to this one!”

Ten minutes later, though, Klaus had warmed up to Sunny, and was playing with her just as enthusiastically as Violet. Still, he was soon distracted from Sunny by another game- jumping between the lumps of snow Violet was creating.

“Catch me!” he shouted, just as a lump of snow appeared beneath him. “Do it again!” he shouted, leaping into the air once more.

Again and again, higher and higher, faster and faster, Klaus kept jumping, and Violet kept summoning snow to catch him. Everything was going fine, until Klaus made one more jump, his highest so far, and Violet slipped, just as she was about to make another pile of snow to catch him.

Klaus never found out if Violet caught him or not- all he felt was a sharp burst of coldness, and then everything went black.

Violet

As soon as Klaus started to fall, and Violet had got back onto her feet, she ran over, hoping to still catch her brother, even if she couldn't use her powers to do so. When she caught him, she immediately noticed three things- one, Klaus was very, very cold. Two, he wasn’t waking up. Three, a bright, white streak had appeared in his dark hair.

“Klaus, wake up!” she screamed, no longer caring if anyone heard her. “Klaus!” She looked to the door, not knowing what to do, but knowing that she couldn't do it alone. “Mama! Papa! Help!” Tears were running down her cheeks now, as she looked down at her baby brother. “It’s okay, you’re gonna be okay, Klaus, I’ve got you.”

The door burst open then, and their parents came skidding into the room. Papa looked around at the icy, snowy world Violet had built, while Mama ran over to the children, taking Klaus into her arms.

“Violet, what did you do?” Papa demanded.

“Bertrand,” Mama said.

“No, this has gotten out of hand!”

“It was an accident!” Violet cried. “I swear, I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Bertrand, he’s as cold as ice,” Mama said, bringing Papa’s attention to Klaus. Papa was quiet for a moment, before he spoke again.

“I know where we have to go.”

Papa took them deep into the woods. Violet got her own horse, which didn’t make her feel anywhere near as grown up as it might’ve under different circumstances. Right now, though, feeling grown up was the furthest thing from her mind. All she cared about now was making sure Klaus would be okay.

Finally, they reached a clearing, seemingly empty apart from several round rocks covered in moss.

“Please, help!” Papa shouted, though Violet couldn't see anyone who could help them. “It’s my son!”

At that moment, the rocks started to roll and shift, until they were no longer rocks, but people- tiny people who still resembled the rocks in many ways, with their grey skin and mossy green hair. One rock person, who was slightly larger than the rest, came forward. He wore a necklace made of glowing green crystals, and seemed to be the one in charge.

“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing respectfully to Papa. Then he pointed to Violet with one rough grey finger. “Was she born with powers, or cursed?”

Violet frowned, wondering how this rock man knew about her powers in the first place- never mind that they had anything to do with what had happened to Klaus.

“She was born with them- and they keep getting stronger.”

“I see. Well then, let’s take a look at the boy.” He held his arms out for Klaus, and Mama passed him over. “You’re lucky that it wasn’t his heart,” the rock man said after a minute. “The heart is not so easily changed. But the head can be persuaded.”

“Do what you must,” Papa said.

“I recommend we remove all magic. Even memories of magic, to be safe.” A series of images flashed up, of Violet and Klaus playing in the snow-covered ballroom, of Sunny the snow baby, of all the times they had ever played games that were only possible because of Violet's powers. “But don’t worry- I’ll leave the fun.” The images changed, until they showed two children playing outside in the snow, building a snow baby out in the woods… normal games, for normal children. The small man brought his hands together, and rested one on Klaus’s forehead. “He will be okay now.”

“But,” Violet began, trying to get her head around the fact that something so vast had happened so quickly. “But he won’t remember I have powers?”

“It’s for the best,” Papa said, and Violet really, really hoped that it would be.

“Listen to me, Violet,” the rock man said. “Your power will only grow.” Another image appeared, depicting the light blue outlines of a girl and several people on either side of her. The girl conjured up a beautiful snowflake, and Violet allowed herself a small smile. “There is great beauty in it, but also great danger.” The snowflake turned red, its edges jagged and sharp-looking. “You must learn to control it. Fear will be your enemy!”

The whole image had turned red now, as the crowds closed in on the girl, who was powerless to stop them.

“No!” Violet cried, hiding her face in her father's chest.

“We will protect her from that,” Papa insisted. “She can learn to control it, I’m sure. And until then, we’ll lock the gates. We’ll reduce the staff, we’ll limit her contact with people, and keep her powers hidden from everyone- including Klaus.”

By the time they returned to the castle, Klaus was starting to wake up, and it seemed, for a moment, like nothing had happened, and life would continue on as normal. But then Papa’s new rules kicked in the next morning, and it was clear that nothing was ever going to be normal again.


	2. Chapter One: Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?

Chapter One: Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?

Klaus

About a week after Violet and Klaus had gone to play in the woods, Klaus woke to find another snowy day. Quickly, he ran out of his room and went to knock on his sister's door. He wasn’t quite sure why she’d had to move out of their shared room so quickly, but Mama had explained that she was getting older and needed her own space, which sort of made sense.

“Violet?” he asked, knocking on her door. “Do you wanna build a snowman?” No response. Strange- that had always managed to get Violet to play with him in the past. “Come on, I’ve barely seen you all week!”

He slumped down beside the door. None of this made any sense- they were best friends, weren’t they? At least, they had been until recently. Nobody seemed willing to explain what had happened- yes, Mama had explained why Violet had her own room now, but surely that didn’t have to mean they stopped seeing each other altogether?

“We don’t have to build a snowman if you don’t want to,” he said. “We could just-”

“Go away, Klaus,” Violet snapped. Klaus blinked in surprise, but turned away.

Violet

Violet didn’t want to be mean to Klaus, really, she didn’t. But Mama and Papa had made her promise once, long ago, to not let anything bad happen to him. She had well and truly broken that promise, and if she didn’t want to break it again, she needed to keep her distance. Until she could control her powers, this was the best solution for everybody. Nobody could get hurt if she stayed away from them all, right?

One day, she had a shock. She was looking out her window, hands resting on the balcony, not really thinking of anything at all. Then, beneath her hands, a layer of ice covered the balcony railing. She jerked back, staring at it in surprise. She hadn’t meant to do that- her control over her powers must be worse than she’d realised.

When she told her parents, Papa gave her a pair of small white gloves to wear over her hands. They should serve as a sort of barrier between her and whatever she happened to be touching, so that she could at the very least pick things up without worrying about whether or not they would freeze.

“See?” Papa said, patting her hand. “Conceal it, don’t feel it. Don’t let it show.”

Violet knew that he was only talking about her fears, about not letting the fear of what she could potentially do drag her down and get the better of her. But she couldn’t help wondering, what if that wasn’t enough? What if hiding her fears wasn’t enough, and she ought to hide other things as well, just to be safe?

Klaus

Days turned into weeks, which gave way to months, then to years. Klaus started reading, devouring story after story, seeking company the only way he could. He started wearing glasses, like Papa. Violet might be changing, too, but because she still rarely left her room, Klaus didn’t really know how she was changing.

Still, another snowy day came, and Klaus decided to try once again to get through to his sister on the other side of her door.

“Do you wanna build a snowman?” he asked. “We don’t have to- we could stay in the castle, maybe you could build something- do you still like building things?” Before they’d stopped talking, Violet had loved making things, and Klaus wondered if that was still the case. “Come on, I think it’s been long enough- it gets pretty lonely out here, you know, there’s nothing to do except read and watch the clock.”

Violet

Violet longed to be able to tell Klaus everything, but how could she do that when every day, she could feel her powers getting stronger, and the possibility of ever getting them under control seemed impossible? How could she ever safely be around anyone, if she was so dangerous?

“I’m scared!” she said, on one of the days when her parents came into her room to check on her. There were patches of ice and frost all over the room- Violet hadn’t meant to make them, they’d just… appeared, like the ice had appeared on the balcony all those years ago. “It’s getting stronger!”

“I know you’re frightened, but getting upset is only going to make it worse. Try to stay calm,” Papa said. He reached out to comfort her, but Violet jerked back out of his reach.

“No, don’t touch me! Please, I don’t want to hurt you.”

More years passed, until something happened which made it clear that Violet's family could still be hurt even if she stayed as far away from them as she could. Violet was eighteen now, and Klaus was sixteen, and they had scarcely spoken for eleven years.

Their parents were leaving for two weeks, to attend the wedding of a couple of old friends in another kingdom. They rarely did things like this, rarely left Violet and Klaus on their own for any length of time. That was also Violet's fault, probably- if she had just been born normal, maybe Mama and Papa would be more willing to trust her to manage by herself, and look after Klaus too. Instead, she scarcely knew what she would do without them, and two weeks felt like an interminably long time.

“Do you really have to go?” she asked, just before they left. Mama wore a bright red shawl trimmed with feathers, and Papa held a book of poetry given to him by one of the friends whose wedding they were going to.

“You’ll be fine, Violet,” Papa reassured her, and then they were gone.

Klaus

Mama and Papa hadn’t even been gone a week when Klaus found out about the storm. The news was delivered by Mr. Poe, the secretary of the royal treasury, who was good at his job, but not good at delivering bad news.

“From what we’ve been led to understand, your parents have perished in a terrible storm,” he explained. “Perished means killed, by the way,” he added, when Klaus didn’t respond straight away.

“I know what perished means,” Klaus replied. “I’ll… I’ll go tell Violet what’s happened.”

Each step as he walked to Violet's room felt like it took an age, like his parents’ death was a physical weight that he carried through the halls, slowing him down. Finally, he reached the door he had stood outside so many times over the last decade, preparing to make one last attempt at reaching his sister in her self-imposed isolation.

“Violet?” he asked, knocking on the door. “Come on, I know you’re still in there.” He sighed, and slumped down with his back against the door. “It’s… it’s Mama and Papa, they’re… they’re gone.” There was no response from the other side of the door. “Let me in, please- we’ve just got each other now, you can’t keep shutting me out like this.” Leaning his head against the door, he closed his eyes. “Do you wanna build a snowman?” he asked, one last time.


	3. Chapter Two: For The First Time In Forever

_Three years later..._

Duncan

It had now been fourteen years since the forest trolls had taken in Duncan and his reindeer companion, Moxie. It didn’t feel like that much time, though- it felt like Duncan had always lived with the trolls. In fact, he couldn't remember a time when he hadn’t, although he was sure there must’ve been.

He had come to Arendelle with the intention of doing some business during the Queen’s coronation. Since coming under the care of the trolls, Duncan had ended up working as an ice seller, and the summer months were always good for business- and an event like a royal coronation would be especially so.

“What do you want, Moxie?” he asked his reindeer, hiding a carrot behind his back.

“ _Give me a snack!”_ he said, in a soft, high-pitched voice.

“What’s the magic word?”

" _Please!”_

He handed her half of the carrot, taking the other half for himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a young woman with dark hair and a dark dress walking past. She seemed a little familiar, but he couldn't place her. He turned his attention back to Moxie, forgetting about the girl almost as soon as she passed out of his eyesight.

Klaus

The night before his sister's coronation, Klaus had fallen asleep reading. Several books were still on his bed, a couple had fallen on the floor, and his glasses were still on. He was still fast asleep when the knock on the door came.

“Prince Klaus?” a voice called. “Prince Klaus?”

“Yeah?” Klaus asked, opening his eyes, dragging himself into a sitting position and knocking another book onto the floor.

“Sorry to wake you, sir,” the voice, belonging to one of the castle staff, spoke again.

“Oh, no, you didn’t- I’ve been up for hours!” Even as he said that, his eyes drifted shut again. There was another knock on the door. “Who’s there?”

“It’s still me, sir,” the voice said. “The gates will be opening soon- it’s time to get ready.”

“Of course, of course- ready for what?”

“Your sister’s coronation, sir.”

“My sister's… corneration…” Klaus trailed off, before his eyes focused on the dark green suit that had been left out on the dummy the day before, and he connected the dots. “It’s Coronation Day!”

He sprang from the bed, sending the rest of the books clattering to the floor, dressed quickly and ran from his room. All around, the staff were opening doors and windows, preparing for all the people who would be coming to the castle. It had been so many years, Klaus had almost forgotten that the doors were even capable of opening, never mind letting other people through them.

All around, the castle was coming to life- and it would only get better from here. It was going to be weird having so many people around- but it would be worth it, of course it would. He was ready, ready to meet all the people who’d be coming to Arendelle finally.

Klaus made his way into the large portrait gallery where he had spent so many hours imagining himself into the various paintings on the walls, anything to feel less alone. Today, though, he wouldn't need to do that- he wouldn't be alone. He wasn’t sure if that made him more excited or nervous.

Maybe he would even meet someone special, and fall in love? Nothing like that had ever happened before, but maybe it would tonight. Maybe it would be just like in all the books he’d read- they’d lock eyes from across the room, strike up a conversation… and then what? It was easy enough to imagine meeting a girl and talking to her- although what they’d actually talk about, he wasn’t sure. But what came next? How did you know that you were actually in love with somebody?

He leaned against one of the pictures, trying to think of how it worked in the books. Weirdly, he always found these kinds of stories easier to understand when the main character was a girl falling for a boy, rather than the other way around. Even now, he found that he was standing in front of the lady who was in the picture, effectively in her place. Quickly, he moved so he was standing in front of the man instead, trying to put himself in his place mentally as well as physically.

There was always the possibility, of course, that nothing would happen. But tonight, for the first time, there was the possibility that it could, and that was enough to make him excited.

Violet

Violet had spent most of the morning pacing through her chambers. Years of telling herself not to feel anything, in case it might trigger her powers, was making the thought of facing the crowds at the coronation today seem like a petrifying concept. She could scarcely trust herself without the gloves now- what would happen when they had to come off in the ceremony?

 _Just keep it together,_ she reminded herself. _Don’t let them see, just for a couple of minutes._

It seemed so simple- she should be ashamed of herself for not being able to do it without being afraid, and she was, of course. But all it would take was one wrong move, and they would all see, they’d all _know._

She picked up the sceptre and the orb, trying to clear her head- but still, her hands shook, and ice started to creep up the length of the sceptre, curling round the orb. Quickly, she set them back down. How was she ever going to get through this, even if it was only for one day?

Steeling herself, she pulled her pale blue gloves back on, and left her chambers, ready to order that the gates finally be opened. Although, could you really call it _being ready_ when she was so jumbled up inside?

Klaus

By now, Klaus had made his way out into the busy streets of Arendelle. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen this many people in one place, who weren’t castle servants, at least. Nobody seemed to be paying him any mind- like they didn’t know he was the prince, and they didn’t care- and it was a strange, but exciting feeling.

He wished that every day could be like this- carefree, light, _normal-_ but maybe this would be the start of more normal times? Maybe things would only get better from here? It seemed entirely believable- because, for once, there was nothing in his way.

It was all going fine, until a horse came out of nowhere, sending Klaus flying into a boat that was resting on the docks. He’d probably have fallen right into the fjord, had the horse’s hoof not come down to hold the boat in place on the dock.

“Are you okay?” a soft, if slightly imperious voice spoke.

That was when Klaus saw the horse’s rider for the first time- a girl about his age, maybe slightly younger, dressed in a fine pink dress and cloak, with red hair in two neat braids down to her shoulders. She was just like a princess from the stories, beautiful and elegant, and now she probably thought Klaus was the world’s biggest idiot.

“No, no, I’m fine,” he said, sitting up in the boat. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, but really, I’m fine now.”

“That’s good to hear,” the girl said, hopping down from her horse and curtseying. “I’m Princess Carmelita, of the Southern Isles,” she said.

“Prince Klaus, of Arendelle,” Klaus replied, attempting to bow whilst maintaining his balance in the boat.

“The prince?” Carmelita asked. Then she took a step forward and tripped on the hem of her skirt, falling into the boat beside Klaus. “

“Hi, again,” Klaus said, glad the princess’s horse had once again put its hoof down, stopping them from falling any further. “This is a bit awkward,” he added. “I mean, not that you’re awkward, it’s just that… I mean… I’m awkward, you’re beautiful.” He cut himself off before he could say anything more. _I cannot believe I just said that out lou_ _d,_ he thought, shaking his head.

“I’d like to formally apologise for hitting the future king of Arendelle with my horse- and for every moment after,” Carmelita said, after a minute. Klaus frowned, and shook his head.

“I’m not the future king of anything- it’s my sister's coronation today,” he corrected.

“But you were the only son of King Bertrand and Queen Beatrice, weren’t you?”

“That doesn’t really have anything to do with it,” Klaus explained. “The line of succession here is based purely on age, not by any other measure- it’s been that way for a long time.”

“I see,” Carmelita replied. “Well, in that case-”

Just then, there was a loud clanging of bells. Klaus awkwardly climbed to his feet, and helped them both out of the boat.

“I have to go, that’s the coronation starting! I’ll see you later, hopefully!” With that, he ran straight back to the palace.

Queen Violet of Arendelle was crowned in a ceremony somewhat smaller than the one Klaus had imagined, but it was no less impressive for it. Klaus watched as the silver tiara was placed in his sister’s neatly pinned dark hair, and she picked up the sceptre and globe that were the symbols of her new position. As first, she went to pick them up with her gloves still on- maybe it was just a force of habit?- before pulling them off quickly and picking the objects up.

“Queen Violet of Arendelle!” the assembled crowd began to chant. “Queen Violet of Arendelle!”

Almost as soon as Violet had picked the ceremonial objects up, she set them back down, pulling her gloves back on- and just like that, the ceremony was over.

The ceremony was followed by a grand ball, and as Klaus entered the room, which was already filling up, he was surprised to be directed to stand beside Violet.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t think I’m supposed to…” The butler gave him a little push, and Klaus awkwardly stumbled into place beside his sister.

“Hi,” Violet said, after a moment of silence. Klaus looked around, checking if there was anyone else she could be talking to, before looking back at Violet. “Yeah, I mean you,” she clarified. “You look nice,” she added.

“Thank you,” Klaus replied. “So do you,” he added.

“Thank you,” Violet replied. They were quiet for a moment, and Klaus struggled to think of something to say, before Violet finally put him out of his misery. “So, this is what a party looks like, huh?”

“Yeah,” Klaus nodded. “It’s warmer than I thought it would be, he added. “I wish it could always be like this, you know?”

“Me too,” Violet replied. “It can’t, though.”

“Why not?”

“It just can’t, okay?”

“Okay,” Klaus nodded. “Will you just… excuse me for a moment?” Violet nodded, and he made his way into the crowds.

He didn’t get very far before someone called his name. For a second, he hoped that it was Princess Carmelita. His hopes were dashed, however, when he saw who had really spoken to him. It was a tall, skinny man in a dark grey suit, with a single grey eyebrow.

“Prince Klaus,” the man said, bowing respectfully. “I am the Count of Weselton. I wanted to have a word with you, as we are your closest partner in trade.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Klaus replied, returning the bow. “If you want to discuss trade, though, you should really speak to my sister instead, since she’s the queen and everything.”

“Oh, we can always deal with that sort of thing later,” the Count replied. “In the meantime, I wanted to ask something- do you know why they shut the gates of this castle in the first place? They’ve been closed for so many years, but nobody could ever find out why.”

“Sorry, I don’t know how that happened,” Klaus replied. He took a couple steps backwards, away from the Count- and bumped straight into Princess Carmelita for the second time that day.


	4. Chapter Three: Love Is An Open Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OC Note- Carmelita's cousin Amelia belongs to ladysaxobeat. Her cousin Brandon, aka the Bearded Volunteer from the Volunteers Fighting Diseases, was also expanded and developed by ladysaxobeat.

Chapter Three: Love Is An Open Door

Klaus

Princess Carmelita was surprisingly nice about the fact that Klaus had bumped into her again.

“I was hoping to see you again, actually,” she said, once Klaus had finished apologising to her.

“You were?” he asked, smiling. “That’s… I mean, I wasn’t sure, after… I mean, I was hoping I’d see you again too.” He sighed, adjusting his tie. “Um, would you like to dance?”

“Actually, I was hoping you could show me around a bit? This is a lovely castle. Besides- it would be nice to get to know you a little better, away from all the noise.”

Klaus nodded, then offered the princess his arm, escorting her from the room. He showed her the portrait gallery he’d walked through earlier, a couple of the ballrooms which weren’t being used tonight, and finally the library.

“This is probably the place I spent the most time in growing up,” he admitted, going to his favourite corner and sitting in one of the soft, high-backed chairs. “There wasn’t much to do, so I just read, and read, and read a bit more.”

“Is that how you got that white streak in your hair?” Carmelita asked, with a smile. “Did you read so much it started turning you grey?”

“No- I was born with that,” Klaus replied, reaching up to touch the single white streak in his otherwise dark brown hair. “Although, I used to dream that I got it because I was kissed by a troll.”

“I think it’s nice,” she said, “It looks very distinguished.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “So, what do you like to do?” he asked, after a minute.

“Dance,” she replied, without a moment's hesitation. “Not the stuffy ballroom kind- though I can definitely do that. What I really love, though, is ballet.” She stood up and twirled round a couple of times, careful not to knock into anything. “If I had more space, and I was better dressed for it, I could do more- but you get the idea.”

“Yeah,” Klaus replied. “I can’t really dance- there was never any real need to learn, since we never had any parties or anything until tonight. I have read about it, though. There’s… very few things I haven’t read about, actually.”

“Neither can my cousin, Brandon- and he’s the heir to our kingdom,” Carmelita said, though something in her voice suggested there was a little more to the story than that. “Come on- let’s go back to that empty ballroom, I can teach you how to dance.”

“You’d do that?” Klaus asked.

“Of course!”

As they walked back to the ballroom, Klaus decided to ask another question.

“So, what’s your family like?” 

“They’re… complicated, but I suppose all families are, in one way or another. My father is the youngest brother of the king, which makes me fifth in line, I believe- behind my cousin Brandon, my uncle, my other cousin Amelia, and my father.” She frowned. “Amelia is the king’s only daughter, she’s older than Brandon- but Brandon is still the heir. I suppose that’s why I thought you were the future king- in the Southern Isles, girls are always the last option, regardless of their age.”

“That sounds awful,” Klaus replied.

“That’s family- there’s always someone who gets left out.”

“Tell me about it- Violet and I were really close when we were little, until one day, she just… shut me out. I never knew why she did it.”

“Well, never mind that now,” Carmelita replied, opening the door to the ballroom. “We’ve found each other now- we might just be a couple of spare parts, but maybe we can make something great together.”

Klaus’s mind was whirling as he and Carmelita took their positions in the middle of the floor. The princess guided him through a few simple steps, and before long, they had got into a sort of rhythm. There was no music, but Klaus could almost imagine that there was.

“This is crazy,” Klaus said, thinking aloud. “This is totally crazy, isn’t it?”

“There’s nothing wrong with crazy,” Carmelita observed, raising Klaus’s arm and spinning under it.

“It’s just… growing up alone here, there was nobody to talk to- you get used to that kind of loneliness, that kind of rejection. And now, you’re here, and everything’s different.”

“I know what you mean,” she replied. “I may not have it as bad as Amelia, but I do understand some of her pain- when nobody sees you, it can really suck.” She looked down, blushing lightly. “But now I think I know how it feels to actually be seen. I think I like it.”

“Me too,” Klaus replied.

Maybe that was what love truly was- a door you never had to close, cause you knew it would always stay open, that you could trust the other person to always be there when you needed them.

There was no music in the ballroom, but they didn’t really need it. Klaus was surprised at how easy he found this- maybe it was just because Carmelita was a good teacher and a good dance partner, or maybe it was a sign of how well they fit together.

Because, as crazy as it seemed, Klaus did feel like they fit together really well. He had hoped for a lot of things to happen tonight- including something like this. But even so, he hadn’t thought it would happen like this, that it would be so easy.

“I never thought I’d find someone like you,” he admitted as they continued to dance. “Someone who even sort of gets what it’s like to be ignored and left out. I’m glad that I did meet you, though.”

“Me too,” she replied. “But like I said, maybe now that we’ve found each other, we can stop just being a couple of spare parts, and become something more. Maybe we can leave behind what we were, and all the pain that went with it.”

Finally, their dance was over, and they made their way out onto the balcony. Together, they took a seat on one of the stone benches, and for a minute or two, they were quiet, just watching the stars.

“This is going to sound truly crazy,” Carmelita said eventually, “but would you like to get married?

“Of course,” Klaus said, before he could think too hard about it.

After all, if there was one thing Klaus had learned from all the stories, it was that sometimes, when it came to love, you just _knew_ a person was right for you. And when you knew that, you shouldn't let them go just because your sister was averse to having people around.

Violet

Violet had just about had enough of the party. She was exhausted from hours of pretending to be normal, and she had long since stopped trying to remember all of the names of the people who came to introduce themselves to her.

She was about to step outside for a moment, just to compose herself for the last couple of hours of the party, when she heard her brother’s voice calling out to her.

“Violet!” he called, coming up to stand in front of her.

Violet was struck, just as she had been earlier, by how much Klaus now resembled their father- even down to his glasses. When had he had to get those? There was so much she had missed… She felt her hands turn cold inside her gloves. Quickly, she snapped herself out of her thoughts- this was no time to be sad, not when she only had herself to blame for their years spent apart. Now she noticed that Klaus wasn’t alone- a red-haired girl stood beside him, dressed in a pink gown. She might have been younger than Klaus, or perhaps she was just shorter.

“I mean, Queen Violet,” he said, bowing politely. “Me again. Um… May I present, Princess Carmelita of the Southern Isles,” he added, gesturing to the girl.

“Your Majesty,” the princess said, bobbing a curtsey.

“We would like your blessing,” Klaus said, smiling brighter than Violet had seen him smile in a very long time, “of our marriage.”

“ _Marriage?_ ” Violet exclaimed. Klaus nodded enthusiastically. “I’m sorry, I’m confused here- what is going on?”

“Well, I mean, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves,” he explained. “We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course, we'll have soup, roast and ice cream. And then,” he paused for a moment, then gasped. "Wait, would we live here?

“ _Here?_ ” Oh, this was not good, this really, really was not good at all. She had to put a stop to this before it got any more out of hand.

“That sounds wonderful!” Carmelita exclaimed.

“ _Klaus!”_ Violet could feel her hands getting cold again- she had to stop this, she had to stop this, she had to-

“Oh! Maybe we could invite your cousins here to stay with us!” Klaus said.

“What? No, no, no,” Violet replied. They were _not_ bringing any more people here, not for something as ridiculous as this. It didn’t matter if Carmelita had two cousins or twelve, it was _not_ happening.

“Of course we have the room,” Klaus continued, like she hadn’t said anything.

“Wait, slow down,” Violet said, trying to bring this situation under control. “No-one's cousins are staying here, and no-one is getting married.

“Wait, what?” Klaus asked. Violet sighed.

“May I talk to you, please?” she asked. “Alone,” she added, looking pointedly at the princess.

“No,” Klaus replied. “Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us.”

“Fine. You can't marry a woman you just met.”

“You can if it's true love!” he countered.

Violet just sighed again, shaking her head. “Klaus, what do you know about true love?”

“More than you!” he snapped. “All you know is how to shut people out!”

“You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no. Now, excuse me,” she said, and turned to go.

“Your Majesty, if I may ease your…” the princess began.

“No, you may not,” Violet told her, firmly. “And I think you should go, right now.” She looked around the room, summoning the commanding tone she had practised for this day. “The party is over,” she informed the guests. “Close the gates.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” one of the servants said, leaving the room.

“ _What?”_ Klaus exclaimed. “Violet, you can’t! Not now, you just can’t!” Before Violet could stop him, he reached for her by now freezing hand. She jerked it back, but not before he was able to pull one of her gloves off.

“Give me my glove!” she demanded, hiding her exposed hand in her cloak, not daring to touch the actual fabric in case it started to freeze.

“Violet, please, please, I can't live like this any more!”

“Then leave,” she said. “If you’re so miserable, then just leave!”

“What did I ever do to you?” he demanded.

Violet wished she could tell him the truth, say that this wasn’t about what _he_ had done to _her_ , it was about what _she_ had done to _him,_ but she couldn't, not now, not surrounded by so many people.

“Drop it, Klaus,” she said, making her way to the door. She had to get out of here, she had to get out of here right now, before-

“No! For once, can you just tell me why? Why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?”

“I said, drop it!” she shouted, her gloveless hand flying out before she could think better of it.

A wall of jagged ice appeared, separating her from the rest of the guests. Violet stared at it in horror. How could she have been so _reckless?_ How could she have allowed herself to lose control like that?

“Sorcery!” a voice cried. Violet turned to see the Count of Weselton, the unpleasant man she’d seen talking to Klaus earlier. “I knew there was something dubious going on here!”

She yanked open the door and sprinted from the ballroom, not stopping until she was out of the castle.

“Queen Violet!” someone in the crowds outside cheered. They sounded truly happy to see her. If they only knew what she really was…

“Your Majesty?” a softer voice asked, the only one that seemed more concerned than delighted. “Are you alright?”

The voice belonged to a young woman, a little younger than Violet. She wore a long black gown, her dark hair neatly pinned back. A young man who looked strikingly similar to her stood at her side, dressed in a purple tunic and black trousers. Violet stepped back, hands resting on the fountain. The one person who noticed something was wrong… who had something she never would, something she had cracked long ago, and now shattered forever… this was too much, this was too-

“There she is!” someone cried. Weselton again- he had followed her out of the castle, along with most of the other guests. “Stop her!”

“Just stay away from me, please!” Violet cried, backing away from the fountain, from the crowds, from all of it. “Just stay away!”

Picking up her long blue skirts, she started to run again. She didn’t think about where she was going, not even when she reached the edge of the fjord. Tentatively, she placed a foot onto the water, a medium-sized circle of ice forming around it when she did so. Taking a deep breath, she ran across the fjord, creating more and more ice with each step. No time to worry about that, though- all that mattered was that she was now away from the castle, and she could never return.

Klaus

As soon as Violet started running away from the castle, Klaus started running after her. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that it was his fault for pushing his sister to the edge like that. Which meant he had to talk to her, he had to make it right.

“Violet!” he called. “Violet, come back!”

It was too late, though- she had already reached the fjord, and had started to run across it. Much of the water was turning to ice under her feet, and the ice was spreading across the rest of the fjord. Klaus stepped out onto the ice, but before he could follow Violet across it, he slipped, and he might have fallen had a small hand not caught his arm.

“Klaus, leave it- you can’t just go running across the ice, you’ll hurt yourself,” Carmelita said. “Look- it’s completely frozen,” she added, and she was right. The ice seemed to cover the whole fjord now, and that wasn’t all.

As they made their way back to the castle entrance, snow began to fall, lightly at first, but getting heavier by the time they reached where everybody else was standing. One of the fountains had frozen, too, the water curving up into a sharp, spiky shape. Violet must’ve done that too, Klaus realised.

“Are you alright?” Carmelita asked. Klaus shook his head, not really wanting to talk about any of this just yet. “Did you know about this?” He shook his head again.

“Look at this!” Weselton cried. “The queen has cursed this land, she must be stopped!”

“Stopped?” Klaus exclaimed, finding his voice at last. “No, there has to be a better option!”

“You!” Weselton said, turning on Klaus. “Is there sorcery in you, too? Are you a monster too?”

“No, no, I’m completely ordinary,” Klaus replied, pushing his glasses up his nose slightly. “Look, I can’t even see very well without these things, never mind summon ice and snow at will.” It maybe wasn’t the best argument, but it was the only one he could think of.

“That’s right, he is completely ordinary!” Carmelita added. “In the best way, of course.”

“And my sister is not a monster!” Klaus said.

“She nearly killed me!” Weselton countered.

“You slipped on ice!” Carmelita pointed out.

“ _Her_ ice!”

“It was an accident, okay?” Klaus said. “She was scared, she didn’t mean to do any of this.” He sighed. “Look, tonight was my fault. I pushed her, so now I have to go after her and make this right.” There was no time to lose, he had to go now. “Would someone please bring me my horse?”

“Klaus, what are you doing?” Carmelita asked. “It’s too dangerous- who’s going to take care of this place if something goes wrong?”

“You will,” he said, simply. “If that’s okay with you, I mean,” he added quickly.

“I can’t run a kingdom, even temporarily! Who’s gonna listen to me?”

“You’ll figure it out, I’m sure you will.” He smiled. “I believe in you.” By now, his horse had been brought by the castle groom. Quickly, he climbed up into the saddle. “I leave Princess Carmelita in charge,” he informed the crowds, trying to sound commanding.

“Are you sure that you can trust her?” Carmelita asked. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he replied. “Violet's not dangerous, she's just scared. Besides, she’s my sister- she’d never hurt me.”

Taking a deep breath, he rode away from the castle. He wasn’t sure where the best place to begin his search would be, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding his sister and fixing everything that had been damaged tonight.


	5. Chapter Four: Let It Go

Chapter Four: Let It Go

Violet

Violet didn’t know how long she had been walking. She didn’t even really know where she was walking to. She could see the North Mountain from here, though- maybe she should go there. Maybe up there she would finally be far enough away that she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else ever again.

There was snow everywhere, more than she had seen in a long time, and for once it was nothing to do with her. There was nothing else that she could see- no houses, no people, no signs of life at all. She was all alone out here. She could rule over this isolated world, and nobody could do anything about it.

Violet closed her eyes. She had tried so hard to keep her powers under control. She’d followed all the rules, she’d reined in every feeling that might set her off, she’d worn the gloves constantly, even in her sleep. She had been so sure that she was doing everything right, keeping everyone far enough away so that they would never know what she really was.

But… they knew now. No matter what happened now, there would be no use in pretending that her powers had not been exposed to the entire kingdom- no use in trying to keep any of this a secret any more.

Violet sighed, and pulled off her remaining glove, letting the wind carry it away. There was no point in keeping it around- she wasn’t going to need it any more. She wouldn't need anything that might restrict her powers any more. They were so, so far past that point now.

Opening her right hand, she summoned a small cloud of snowflakes. _Good,_ she thought. _I can do more, though._ She summoned another cloud in her left hand, forming both clouds into snowballs and tossing them away.

That felt good, Violet thought. But she could keep going, there was still more that she could do. She paused, waving her hands in front of her. _Three large balls of snow,_ she thought, _one for the head, two for the body. Two little feet, and four sharp teeth._ It was a snowman, exactly like the one she had built long ago with Klaus. Allowing herself a small smile, she moved on.

As she walked, the wind kept blowing her heavy, dark red cloak in every direction. When it whacked her in the face for the second time, she sighed and undid the clasp. The cloak was whisked away just as easily as the glove had been. Good- she didn’t need it up here. The cold had never bothered her before, it seemed silly to pretend that it affected her now.

Eventually, she reached a wide gorge. The ground on the other side sloped up to a mountain with a square peak. Had she finally reached the North Mountain? She stared up at the mountain, imagining a castle made of ice that could safely rest on top of the square peak. All she needed to do was find a way to cross the gorge…

Reaching down, she carefully tore a thin strip of cloth from her long blue gown. It had been many, many years since she had tied her hair up with a ribbon in order to focus on constructing things out of ice and snow. She hadn’t done it since… no, she wasn’t going to think about that night, or what she had done. That was in the past now, and she was done with it.

Holding her crown in place with one hand, she took her hair out of its bun with the other, undoing the long, dark braid and letting her hair hang loose. Then she took her improvised ribbon and used it to tie up her hair. She smiled, feeling better already. The snowflakes and icicles of her mind, always so distorted and wild, finally settled into something that made sense. _A staircase made of ice,_ she realised. _That’s what I have to make- and I can make it, I know I can._

Taking a deep breath, she pushed her hands out in an upward motion towards the gorge. Five snowy steps stretched out in front of her, turning to pale blue ice when she stepped onto the first one. Violet allowed herself to smile a little wider then, and started to run up the stairs. More of them formed under her feet, the staircase climbing up and up before finally coming to a stop on the wide, square mountain peak.

Violet stood in the centre of the peak, trying to imagine what sort of palace she wanted to build. Once she had a clear image in her mind, she took a couple of steps back- she didn’t want it to take up the whole peak, after all- and stomped on the ground, a snowflake spreading out beneath her foot.

The castle formed around her, fitting into the image her mind had constructed. The back part of the castle hung off the edge of the peak, but sturdy supports formed by columns of ice would hold it in place. The roof was tall and pointed, an elaborate chandelier hanging from the centre of it.

Finally, Violet could look around her new home and feel like she had everything she could need to be comfortable living up here. Well, almost everything. Taking another deep breath, she finally took off her silver crown, tossing it away. Her days of being Queen of Arendelle were over as soon as they had begun, and she was never going back now.

There was still one thing she was missing. Looking down at her long blue dress, with its torn skirt and restrictive style, she couldn't help thinking that something a little different would suit her now that she was entering her new life. She closed her eyes- this was different from anything that she had tried so far. Still, she tried to apply a similar logic for crafting a new dress as she had for crafting a castle and a staircase. The result was a pale purple gown, lighter and more freeing than anything she had worn in a long time. A long cape in a darker purple, as well as a proper purple ribbon to replace her torn piece of dress, completed her new look.

Just as she had finished with all of this, the sun began to rise. Violet smiled, and stepped out onto the balcony. This was it- she was free now. It didn’t matter what happened now- nothing would ever bother her again.


	6. Chapter Five: Reindeers Are Better Than People

Chapter Five: Reindeers Are Better Than People

Klaus

Klaus didn’t know how long he had been riding through the forest. He didn’t even really know where he was riding to. All he knew was that he had to find Violet, and find a way to break this curse and bring back summer.

“Violet?” Klaus called. “Violet, it’s me, Klaus!”

It was a long shot, of course, that she would be in this specific part of the woods- or that she’d be in the woods at all. But under the circumstances, it was a long shot worth taking.

“You know, your brother, who didn’t mean to make you freeze the summer! I’m sorry, this is all my fault!” No reply. “Of course,” he added, in a more normal voice, “none of this would’ve happened if she had just told me her secret. But what can you do?”

Before Klaus got much further, though, he smacked face first into a low hanging tree branch. The impact knocked him off his horse and right into the snow. He sat up, just in time to watch his horse galloping away back towards Arendelle.

“No, no, come back!” he shouted, but it was too late. “Okay, I’ll walk.”

He got to his feet, brushing the snow from his clothes as best he could, and started to walk. This was just a minor setback, it wouldn't stop him from finding Violet- nothing would.

 _She had to have snow powers, didn’t she?_ Klaus thought as he continued to trudge through the forest. _She couldn't have had, I don’t know, tropical magic that covered the fjords in white sand and warm… fire!_

Indeed, there was a small log cabin just ahead, with smoke coming out of the chimney. Maybe Violet would be in there- or at least someone who’d seen her. Whoever was in that cottage might have some information he could use.

Klaus walked up to the cabin, which had a small sign handing from the awning, which was also covered in snow. Knocking the snow off, he saw that he’d come to _Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna._ That last part was on a smaller sign attached to the main one, like it had been added as an afterthought.

Pushing open the door, Klaus was relieved to find a warm, well-lit shop, with a cheerful-looking man sitting behind the counter. This, he assumed, was Oaken.

“Yoo hoo! Big summer blowout!” he greeted. “Half off swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention!”

“Oh, that’s great!” Klaus replied. “For now, um, how about boots? Winter boots and clothes?”

“That would be in our winter department,” Oaken said, gesturing to a chair in the corner which had a pile of blue clothes on it and a pair of black boots beside it.

“That’s… okay, that’s fine.” Klaus went to pick up the clothes and boots, bringing them over to the counter. “While I’m here, has anyone else passed through here? A young woman, maybe?”

“No- the only one crazy enough to be out in this storm is you, it would seem.”

Just then, the door opened. Klaus turned to see a man covered head to foot in snow, to the point where it was hard to tell what he actually looked like.

“Well, you and this other fellow,” Oaken observed. “Yoo hoo! Big summer blow out!”

The man didn’t say anything, he just strode right up to the counter, coming to stand in front of Klaus.

“Carrots,” he said. Klaus frowned at him, confused. “Behind you,” he added.

“Oh, right, sorry about that,” Klaus replied, awkwardly stepping out of the way. The man was a bit taller than him, and seemed older, though it may have just been the snow.

“A real howler in July, yes? Wherever could it be coming from?” Oaken asked.

“The North Mountain,” the man replied.

Klaus blinked, taking that in. The North Mountain- that must be where Violet had gone. He needed a way to get up there, and fast. He looked at the man, who was gathering up the last of the winter stock- a long coil of rope and a pickaxe- and wondered if maybe he could help.

“That will be forty,” Oaken said, looking at the man’s purchases.

“ _Forty?”_ the man exclaimed. “No, ten!”

“Oh, dear, that's no good,” Oaken replied. “See, this is from our winter stock, where supply and demand have a big problem.”

“You want to talk about a supply and demand problem? I sell ice for a living!” the man said, pointing out the window to a sled and a single reindeer.

“Ooh,” Klaus winced. “That's a rough business to be in right now. I mean, that is really… That's unfortunate.”

“Still forty,” Oaken replied. “But I will throw in a visit to Oaken's sauna. Yoo-hoo! Hi, family!” He waved at a window in a door off to the side, where a small crowd of people peered through.

“Ten is all I got!” the man tried again. “Help me out.”

“Okay,” Oaken replied, holding up the rope. “Ten will get you this and no more.”

“Okay, just tell me one thing,” Klaus said, looking up at the man again. “What was happening on the North Mountain? Did it seem magical?”

“Yes!” the man said, pulling down the dark green scarf that had covered most of his face and looking straight at Klaus. His eyes were green, too, and his hair, what little of it that wasn’t covered by his hat, appeared to be dark brown, almost black. “Now, back up, while I deal with this crook here.”

“What did you call me?” Oaken asked, standing up at his full height, and suddenly looking anything but friendly.

Walking round to where Klaus and the man were standing, he grabbed the man by the back of his jacket, pulled open the door with his free hand and tossed him out into the snow.

“I’m sorry about this violence,” he said, sitting back down behind the counter and smiling at Klaus. “I will add a quart of lutefisk, so we have good feelings. Just the outfit and the boots, yes?”

Klaus looked at the outfit and boots, and at the supplies the man had left on the counter beside them. He could get them as well- it wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford it. And maybe if he did that, he could convince the man to help him get to the North Mountain.

Getting changed into the new outfit- a warm blue tunic and trousers, a dark blue cloak and a matching hat- Klaus made his way out into the snow. He couldn't see the man or his reindeer and sled anywhere, and for a moment, he assumed they must’ve already cleared off, until he saw the footprints- and hoofprints- which led towards the barn.

Klaus could faintly hear music coming from the barn. Pressing his ear to the door, he heard a voice singing, which he recognised as that of the man from the shop.

“ _Reindeers are better than people,_ ” he sang. “ _Moxie, don’t you think that’s true?_ ” Was that the reindeer’s name?

“ _Yeah, people will beat you and curse you and cheat you!_ ” At first, Klaus thought the reindeer must somehow be able to talk, and had replied, until he realised that "Moxie" just sounded like her owner putting on a high pitched tone. “ _Every one of ‘em’s bad, except you._ ”

“Aw, thanks, girl,” the man said, before continuing his song. “ _But people smell better than reindeers, Moxie, don’t you think I’m right?”_

“ _That’s once again true, for all except you!”_

“ _You got me, let’s call it a night!”_

“ _Good night!”_

“ _Don’t let the frostbite… bite!_ ”

Klaus smiled, and pushed open the door to the barn once it was clear the song was done. The man from the shop had defrosted a bit since Klaus had seen him last. He wore a dark green outfit similar to Klaus’s, though it didn’t look quite as new, and his hair was indeed a really dark brown, almost black. He looked… better, Klaus thought, more like a person and less like a snowman.

“Nice duet,” Klaus said, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. The man jerked his head up to look at him, lowering it back down to the hay when he saw it was just Klaus.

“Oh, it's just you,” he said. “What do you want?”

“I want you to take me up the North Mountain.”

“I don't take people places, especially when the only thing I know about them is that they think wearing formal wear in a snowy forest is a good idea. I don’t even know your name.”

“I’m Klaus,” he said. He could mention that he was a prince later, that didn’t seem too important right now.

“Duncan,” Duncan replied. “So, Klaus, give me one good reason why I should help you.”

“I can give you several.” Klaus tossed over the bag containing the rope and ice pick, which Duncan caught. “Now, take me up the North Mountain, please.” Duncan was silent. “Look, I know how to stop this winter,” he added.

“We leave at dawn,” Duncan said. “And you forgot the carrots for Moxie.”

Klaus tossed the other bag over. Duncan didn’t catch this one, and it landed on his stomach instead.

“Oops, sorry,” Klaus winced. “I didn't…” he trailed off, trying to summon the same commanding tone he’d used earlier, when he’d left Arendelle in Carmelita’s care. “We leave now. Right now.”

With all the confidence and dignity he could muster, he walked back out of the barn, hoping that Duncan and Moxie would follow him.

Duncan

It turned out that this _Klaus_ guy wasn’t just anyone- he was the prince of Arendelle. Which probably explained the whole “wandering around the forest in formal wear” thing. Apparently he’d left the castle to go and track down the queen, who was the one to blame for this winter, and hadn’t bothered to get changed before leaving.

“Hang on,” Duncan said, as they started to ride through the trees. “We like to go fast!”

“That’s okay, I like fast!” Klaus replied, propping his feet up on the front of the sled.

“Hey, hey, hey, get your feet down from there!” Duncan cried, shifting the prince’s feet aside. “This is fresh lacquer- seriously, were you raised in a barn?”

“No, I was raised in a castle,” Klaus replied.

After a minute or two of riding in silence, Duncan decided to see of he could get some answers regarding the whole _spontaneous winter_ situation.

“So, tell me, what made the queen go all ice-crazy?”

“Well, it was all my fault,” Klaus explained. “I got engaged, but then she freaked out, because I'd only just met her, you know, that day. And she said she wouldn't bless the marriage, and…”

“Wait,” Duncan said, blinking incredulously. “You got engaged to someone you just met _that day_?”

“Yeah,” Klaus said, like that wasn’t anything weird. “Anyway, I got mad, and so she got mad, and then she tried to walk away, and I grabbed her glove…”

“Hang on! You mean to tell me you got engaged to someone you just met that day?” He couldn't be serious about that, could he? That had to be some kind of joke.

“Yes, pay attention,” Klaus replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. “But the thing is, she wore the gloves all the time, so I just thought, maybe she has a thing about dirt.”

“Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?”

“Yes, they did.” Klaus shuffled a little further along the seat, away from Duncan. “But Carmelita is not a stranger!”

“Oh, yeah? What's her last name?”

“Of the Southern Isles.”

“What's her favourite colour?”

“Pink.”

“Best friend's name?”

“Amelia, I think?”

“Eye colour?”

“Pretty.”

“Foot size?”

“Foot size doesn't matter.”

“Is there anything you actually _do_ know about her?” Duncan asked. “Have you had a meal with her yet? What if you hate the way she eats? What if she bites her nails, or picks her nose?”

“Picks her nose?”

“You can’t rule anything out, that’s all I’m saying!”

“Excuse me, sir, she is a princess!”

“Doesn’t mean she can’t have any gross habits- practically everyone does.”

“Look, it doesn't matter,” Klaus said after a minute. “It's still true love.”

“It doesn't sound like true love,” Duncan countered.

“Right, and what, are you some sort of love expert?”

“No. But I have friends who are.”

“You have friends who are love experts? I'm not buying it.”

Just then, Duncan heard a faint rustling in the trees nearby. He held up a finger to Klaus, trying to concentrate on identifying what had caused it.

“Stop talking,” he whispered. There was the rustling again, closer this time.

“Oh, no, I’d like to meet these-” Klaus started. Duncan sighed, pressing a hand against his mouth.

“No, I’m serious.” More rustling, then several faintly glowing pairs of eyes, attached to long snouts, swishing tails, unmistakeable dark grey bodies. “Moxie, go!”

Moxie tore through the trees, dragging the sled behind them. Duncan looked around for anything he could use as a weapon, though unfortunately potential weapons were in short supply.

“What do we do?” Klaus asked, as the wolf pack got closer to the sled.

“I’ve got this,” Duncan replied, kicking on of the wolves away and using one of his packs to bat away another. “You just don’t fall off, and try not to get eaten.”

“But I want to help!” Klaus protested.

“Absolutely not!” Duncan replied. “I don’t trust your judgement!”

“Excuse me?!”

“Who marries a woman he just met?!”

“It’s true love!” Klaus snapped, grabbing the lute and using it to knock back another wolf.

Before Duncan could respond, one of the wolves grabbed his sleeve, yanking him off the sled. Quickly, he grabbed onto the rope that was attached to the back, so could still hang onto the sled.

“Dennis!” Klaus shouted.

“It’s Duncan!” Duncan shouted back. “Can I get a bit of help here?”

“Hang on!” Klaus threw one of the packs, which he had set on fire, in the direction of Duncan and the wolves. It narrowly missed Duncan, but it did chase away the wolves.

“You almost set me on fire!” Duncan snapped, pulling himself back into the sled.

“But I didn't,” Klaus countered.

At that moment, they both realised that they had another problem. Their path through the trees was coming to an end- and there was a sizeable gap between them and the next mountain.

“Get ready to jump, Moxie!” Klaus shouted.

“You don’t tell her what to do,” Duncan replied, passing Klaus their bag of supplies, then tossing him onto Moxie’s back. “I do!” He cut Moxie loose from the sled. “Jump, Moxie!”

Moxie jumped, and the sled flew across the gap. About halfway there, though, the sled started to fall. Taking a deep breath, Duncan jumped out, and leapt the rest of the way across the gap.

The good news was, he made it to the other side in one piece. The bad news, one glance down showed that his sled had not been so lucky. It lay on the ground far below, shattered into pieces.

“I just paid it off!” he grumbled, before he realised he had a bigger problem. He hadn’t gripped onto anything solid, and the pile of snow he was holding onto was crumbling beneath his hands. If he didn’t do something fast, he’d be joining his sled before long.

“Grab on!” Klaus shouted. He’d thrown the pickaxe over, and it had landed right in front of Duncan. Duncan did not need to be told twice. “Pull, Moxie, pull!”

Finally, they managed to pull him back onto more solid ground. Duncan sighed, relieved to be safe, but disappointed to have lost his sled.

“I’ll replace your sled, and everything in it.” Klaus said. “And… if you don’t wanna help me any more, I understand.” He turned around, and started walking away.

“Of course I don’t want to help him any more,” Duncan said, once he was out of earshot. “In fact, this whole thing has ruined me for helping anyone ever again.”

“Is it this way?” Klaus called in the background.

“ _He’ll die on his own!”_ Moxie pointed out.

“I can live with that,” Duncan replied.

“ _But you won’t get your new sled if he’s dead!”_ Moxie countered.

“Sometimes, I really don’t like you,” he said, shaking his head. Duncan sighed, and got to his feet. “Hold up, we’re coming!”

“You are?” Klaus asked. “I mean, sure, yeah, I’ll let you tag along!”

They made slower progress without the sled, but eventually, they reached a point on the mountain from which they could see Arendelle below them.

“It’s completely frozen,” Duncan observed, looking down at the snow-covered city.

“It’ll be fine, though,” Klaus said. “It’ll be fine, cause Violet will thaw it.”

“Will she?”

“Yeah, now, come on. This way to the North Mountain?” he asked, pointing ahead of them.

“More like that way,” Duncan replied, guiding his hand further up, to where the peak of the North Mountain was visible on the far horizon. It would be a long journey- but hopefully it would all be worth it.


	7. Chapter Six: In Summer

Chapter Six: In Summer

Klaus

Klaus, Duncan and Moxie continued their journey to the North Mountain. Eventually, they came to a small pool, with a waterfall tumbling down into it. The pool was surrounded by willow trees, the branches of which had frozen, turning the leaves into crystals.

“I never knew winter could be so beautiful,” Klaus said, reaching up to touch a few of the branches.

“Yeah, yeah, it really is beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice spoke up, seemingly from nowhere. “But it’s so white, you know? What about a little colour? Maybe some purple, or blue, maybe yellow?” the voice trailed off. “Actually, no- I mean, I like yellow, but yellow and snow, not so much.”

Klaus looked down, finally seeing to whom the voice belonged. It had sounded like it belonged to a little girl, and that was sort of true- except, the little girl in question was made out of snow. Her body was made out of two large snowballs, with a smaller one on the top for her head. She had two little feet, and four sharp teeth in her smiling mouth.

“Am I right?” she asked, holding out her small stick arms. Klaus screamed, and kicked at her, sending her head flying. Duncan caught it. “Hi!” the snowgirl said, seemingly unfazed by her decapitation.

“You’re creepy,” Duncan replied, throwing the head over to Klaus.

“I don’t want it!” Klaus snapped, throwing it back.

“Back at you!” Duncan said, and they continued throwing the head back and forth.

“Please don’t drop me!” the snowgirl exclaimed.

“Come on, it’s just a head!” Duncan said, tossing it again.

“Okay, I think we got off to a bad start,” the snowgirl said, her body continuing to wander back and forth.

 _That was it,_ Klaus thought, throwing the head in the direction of the body. They connected, though the head was now on upside down.

“Wait, what am I looking at right now? Why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?”

“Wait just one second,” Klaus replied, bending down and setting her head to rights. “There you go.”

“Thank you!” she said. “Now I’m perfect!”

“Well, almost,” Klaus replied, pulling a carrot out of the bag and pushing it into her face. He pushed a bit too hard, and the carrot went straight through her head, with only a tiny bit poking out of her face.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t meant to do that!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

“Wooh, that was a head rush!” she said, before patting the small part of the carrot. “I’m wonderful, though! I’ve always wanted a nose- look at it, it’s so cute, like a little baby unicorn!”

Spying that the wider end of the carrot was poking out of the back of her head, Klaus gave it a small shove. Now most of the carrot was poking out of her face, instead of just a tiny bit.

“You know, I love it even more now!” the snowbaby said, patting her new nose. “Okay, now that’s out the way, let’s start things over. Hi everyone, I’m Sunny, and I like biting things!”

“ _Sunny?”_ Klaus asked, something clicking into place in his memory. “That’s right, Sunny!”

“And you are?” Sunny asked, tilting her head to the side in apparent confusion.

“Oh, I’m Klaus,” Klaus replied, holding out his hand so that Sunny could shake it.

“Right, right- and who’s the funky-looking donkey over there?” she asked, looking at Duncan and Moxie.

“That’s Moxie,” Klaus replied, thinking that Sunny had probably never actually seen a reindeer before.

“Alright- and who’s the reindeer?”

“...Moxie.”

“Oh, okay then- you know what, that makes everything easier for me.” She nodded, just as Moxie reached forward, to try and grab the carrot in her face. “Aww, that’s sweet- she’s trying to kiss my nose! I like you too, Moxie!”

“Sunny, did Violet build you?” Klaus asked, as Duncan carefully removed one of her arms and tried to bend it.

“Yeah, why?” Sunny asked.

“Do you know where she is?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you think you could show us the way?”

“Yeah, why?”

“This is fascinating,” Duncan observed. “How does it work?”

“Stop it, Moxie, I’m trying to focus here,” Sunny snapped, grabbing her arm back and stuffing it into her body.

“I’ll tell you why we need your help,” Duncan said. “We need Violet to bring back summer.” He paused. “And my name is _Duncan,_ by the way, not Moxie!”

Sunny

At the mention of the word _summer,_ Sunny perked up. Something about the idea of summer fascinated her.

“I don’t know why,” she said, “but I’ve always loved the idea of summer, it just sounds like such a lovely, warm time of year.”

“Really?” Duncan asked. “I’m guessing you haven’t had much experience with heat, then.”

“I’ve had no experience with anything!” Sunny replied, smiling. “I was born yesterday! Even so, I like imagining what it’ll be like when it is summertime, though.”

“Right, and what do you imagine this perfect summer is gonna be like?” Duncan asked.

“Well…” Sunny began, counting things off on her twiggy fingers. “There will be a lot of buzzy bees, and they’ll make honey, so we can eat that and put it on cakes and stuff. And, um… we can have ice cream, and ice lollies- we can even make our own, I’m sure that’s not too tricky to do.”

“Anything else?” Duncan asked.

“Ooh, barbecues! We can have barbecues! You do those in the summer, don’t you?”

“Do you have any ideas concerning summer that don’t involve food?” Duncan asked. “… Can you even eat?”

“I’m not sure, but I think I can still cook- or at least I can learn how to.”

“I think what Duncan is trying to say is, do you have any ideas of things that only happen during summer? Cause apart from the bee thing, you haven’t listed anything that couldn't just as easily happen during the winter if you had the right materials.”

“But I don’t _want_ it to be winter any more, winter’s all I know! And I’m sure it’s a perfectly nice time, and you can do lots of nice things there, but… if you let me help you bring summer back, I’ll be a very happy snowbaby!”

She looked up at them, trying to widen her coal eyes and hoping they would help her achieve her big dream.

Duncan

This was just ridiculous. They were meant to be finding the queen, ending winter and saving Duncan’s ice business- and now they were talking to a magically animated snowbaby, who was convinced that she should be allowed to experience summer.

“I’m gonna tell her,” Duncan muttered, as Sunny looked up at them both with large, pleading eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” Klaus hissed, lightly smacking his arm. “Okay, Sunny, we’ll help you if you help us, alright?”

“Alright!” Sunny cheered. “Come on, then, Violet’s this way! Let’s go bring back summer!” She ran off, and Klaus started walking off in the same direction she was heading.

“Somebody’s gotta tell her,” Duncan said, shaking his head, before grabbing the carrot bag and following Klaus and Sunny.


	8. Chapter Seven: I Can't Lose You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OC Note- As previously mentioned, Carmelita's cousin Amelia belongs to ladysaxobeat. Her cousin Brandon, aka the Bearded Volunteer from the Volunteers Fighting Diseases, was also expanded and developed by ladysaxobeat.

Chapter Seven: I Can’t Lose You

Carmelita

Princess Carmelita Spats had never wanted to save the world. She had wanted to change it, just a little, if doing so would allow her older cousins to have the lives they wanted. If it would allow Amelia to be recognised as the true heir to their kingdom, like she deserved, and Brandon was left free to play his lute and go where his heart desired, then that was enough for her.

At no point in all those dreams of a better world had she imagined herself here, taking care of a kingdom blighted by a winter that may never end if Klaus couldn't stop it. She hadn’t even wanted to come to Arendelle- it had been her father’s idea, believing that he would be placing her in the path of the king of Arendelle, making her a queen. She couldn't help wondering, had he known what Arendelle was really like, would he have looked elsewhere for a match for her? Probably.

She sighed, trying to focus on the problem at hand. Admittedly, she wasn’t really entirely sure what she was doing. Right now, the important thing to do was to make sure that as many of the citizens as possible were getting all the help that she could provide.

“Does anyone need a cloak?” she asked, carrying a gradually shrinking pile of warm cloth.

“Arendelle is indebted to you, your Highness,” one woman said, accepting a cloak.

Carmelita was a little taken aback by that- nobody had ever said that to her before. Was this what being a princess of Arendelle would be like? Would people always respect her as much as they would her future husband? Or was this just a temporary affect of the crisis, that would fade once the queen and prince returned?

“The castle is open,” she informed the crowd. “There is soup and hot glogg in the hall.” She passed the pile of cloaks to one of the castle staff. “Here, pass these out.”

“Princess Carmelita!” the Count of Weselton barked. “Are we expected to sit here and freeze while you give away all of Arendelle’s tradable goods?”

Carmelita turned her back on the Count for a moment, pointing more citizens towards the castle. She wasn’t sure how best to handle the Count, if she were being honest. _What would you do, Mia?_ she thought, and smiled. If Amelia were here, she’d have no problem telling _Countie_ here exactly where he could shove his _tradable goods._ She could do that too- it was at least worth a try. She turned around, glaring up at the Count.

“Listen here, you cakesniffer,” she snapped, using an insult she hadn’t used since she was a little girl. “Prince Klaus told me to look after this place, and that’s what I intend to do.”

“That’s just the thing, isn’t it? Has it dawned on you that your prince may be conspiring with a wicked sorceress in order to destroy us all?”

“Do not question the prince- he’s left me in charge of this place, and I will do all I can to prove that I am worthy of the trust he put in me. If that means I have to protect this kingdom from treason, then so be it.”

“Treason?” the Count snapped, but he let the matter drop after that.

Carmelita turned around again, feeling quite proud of how she’d handled that. Maybe being the princess here wouldn't be so bad- it might just give her the power to deal with Weselton.

Just then, a horse came careening into the square. It stopped in front of Carmelita, who managed to grab its reins and hold it in place.

“Woah, woah, easy, boy, easy!” she said, trying to calm the horse down.

“That’s the prince’s horse,” someone called from the crowds. Carmelita turned- the voice came from a young man round about her age, who wore a dark purple cloak.

“The presence of this royal horse raises questions about its owner’s course,” added the young woman who stood beside him. Carmelita rolled her eyes- this was no time for poetry.

“Prince Klaus is clearly in trouble- I need volunteers to go with me to find him.”

Several men stepped forward to help. Initially, the young man in the purple cloak stepped forward, but the young woman- his sister, probably, they did look very alike- pulled him back.

“I volunteer two men, my Lady,” Weselton said, gesturing to two men who stood beside him.

Carmelita nodded, and climbed up onto Klaus’s horse. There was no time to waste- they had to get moving if they wanted to fix this.

Klaus

Meanwhile, up in the mountains, Klaus, Duncan, Moxie and Sunny were still making their way up to the North Mountain.

“Do you think we’re getting close?” Klaus asked.

“Probably- though I don’t think we should stop until we do get there. We’re making pretty good time all things considered, and we’ve got a pretty good momentum going. Besides, ease off when you’re halfway done, and the finish won’t be half as fun.”

“I didn’t take you for the poetry type,” Klaus said, noticing the rhyme.

“I’m not- I must’ve just heard that somewhere, and it stuck in my head,” he replied. “That doesn’t matter- how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?”

“I know what I’m gonna do- I’m gonna talk to my sister.”

“ _That’s_ your plan?” Duncan asked. “My ice business is riding on you _talking to your sister?”_ Klaus nodded. By now, they had come to a series of rather sharp-looking icicles. “So, you’re not at all afraid of her?”

“Why would I be?”

“Yeah,” Sunny said. “I bet she’s the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever.” As she spoke, she walked right into one of the spikes, the sharp icicle piercing her small, round body. “Oh, look at that,” she said, glancing down and laughing. “I’ve been impaled!”

Klaus rolled his eyes, and helped her off the icicle. Was this what it might have been like, if he and Violet had had a third sibling? He imagined that he wouldn't have liked having another sibling at first- but eventually, they’d have been thick as thieves.

Finally, they reached a rocky mountain face. Klaus wasn’t sure what they were meant to do now- there didn’t seem to be any easy way to go around it, so they’d have to go up.

“It looks too steep,” Duncan observed. “I’ve only got one rope here, and you don’t know how to climb mountains, so…”

“Says who?” Klaus countered, reaching up and grabbing one of the footholds in the rock and trying to pull himself up.

“What are you doing?” Duncan asked.

“I am going to see my sister,” Klaus replied, setting his feet into a couple more footholds and looking for somewhere to reach for next.

“You’re gonna kill yourself,” Duncan said. Klaus sighed, and kept going. “I wouldn't put my foot there- or there, for that matter.”

“You’re distracting me.”

“How do you know Violet even wants to see you?"

“Alright, I’m just gonna block you out, cause I need to concentrate here.”

“You know, most people who disappear into the mountains do that cause they want to be alone.”  
  
“Nobody wants to be alone- except maybe you.”

“I’ve never been alone- I have Moxie, and I have my friends, remember?”

“Right, right, the _love experts,_ how could I forget?”

“Yeah, the love experts.”

“Right. Can you please tell me I’m almost there?” Klaus asked, pulling himself up a little higher. “Does the air seem a bit thin to you up here?”

“You’ve barely started!” Sunny said. Klaus groaned- of course that was the case.

“Hang on,” Duncan said.

“Hey, Duncan?” Sunny called. “Not sure if this is gonna help, but I found a staircase that leads exactly where you wanted to go!”

“Great!” Klaus said. “Hey, catch!” he added, taking a deep breath and jumping from his spot on the mountain. Thankfully, Duncan caught him. “Thanks- that was like a crazy trust exercise,” he said, getting back onto his feet.

They stood at the foot of the staircase, at the top of which stood a giant, elegant castle made entirely of ice.

“Woah!” Duncan exclaimed. “Now, that’s ice. I might cry.”

“Go ahead,” Klaus replied, patting his arm. “I won’t judge.”

They started to make their way up the staircase- though Moxie kept sliding on the ice, and eventually had to be left behind at the bottom of the staircase.

Klaus stood in front of the door, one fist raised to knock. He hesitated, dreading what could happen if the door didn’t open. By now, he’d thought he might be used to that, but apparently he wasn’t.

“Knock,” Sunny said. “Just knock.” She paused. “Why isn’t he knocking? Do you think he know how to knock?”

Finally, Klaus took another deep breath and knocked on the door. It swung open, which he wasn’t expecting.

“Huh- it opened. That’s a first.” He frowned, and turned to Duncan. “You should probably wait out here- she’s really not good at meeting new people, I shouldn't spring another one on her right now.”

“Oh, come on!” Duncan exclaimed. “This is a palace made of ice! Ice is my life!”

“See you later, Duncan!” Sunny said.

“You too, Sunny. Look, both of you, just give us a minute, okay?”

They both took a seat on the top step, and Klaus stepped into the palace, hoping that he would be able to leave with his sister soon after.

Violet

Getting out here into the mountains had, so far, been the best decision Violet could've possibly made. There were still some technical problems she’d need to work out, like getting a consistent food source, but that was nothing against the problems she would’ve faced had she stayed where she was.

Honestly, she shouldn't have been too surprised this would happen- if it hadn’t been the coronation that set her off, it would’ve been something else. Really, she was better off out here than she ever would’ve been back in Arendelle.

“Violet?!” a painfully familiar voice called. “Violet, it’s me, Klaus!”

Violet sighed, and walked out onto the top of the staircase. She had to get rid of her brother, get him to go back to Arendelle and leave her in peace. Smoothing down her light purple skirts, she stood on the top step. Klaus had got a more appropriate outfit for the weather- he was really taking this seriously. Too bad it was all going to be for nothing.

“You look different, Violet,” he said. “A good different, of course- and this place, it’s amazing.”

“Thank you,” Violet replied. “I never knew what I was capable of.”

“I’m so sorry about what happened- if I’d have known…”

“No, no, you don’t need to apologise, it’s okay. You should probably go, though.”

“But I just got here!” he protested.

“You belong down in Arendelle,” she countered.

“So do you!”

“No, Klaus, I belong here, alone. Where I can be who I am, without hurting anybody.”

“Actually, about that-” Klaus began.

Before he could finish what he’d meant to say, though, the door opened, and a tiny snowman came bouncing into the room. Its shape was very familiar- Violet remembered building one just like it when she had first started letting go of her powers. But that hadn’t been _real,_ it hadn’t been able to move.

“Hi! I’m Sunny, and I like biting things!” the snowman- no, snowgirl- announced, standing beside Klaus, still bouncing a little.

“Sunny?” Violet asked.

“Yeah,” Sunny replied. “You built me- remember that?”

“And you’re alive?”

“Um, I think so,” she replied, waving her twiggy arms about.

“She’s just like the one we built as kids,” Klaus said, crouching down beside Sunny. “Remember?” He sighed, straightening up. “Violet, we were so close- we can be like that again.”

Violet shook her head, spying the white streak in Klaus’s hair, which was visible from underneath his hat. She remembered how that had come to be there, even if he didn’t, and that memory was exactly why they could never be as close as they were as childhood.

“No, we can’t. Goodbye, Klaus,” she said, and turned around, starting to walk away.

“Violet, wait!”

“No, I’m just trying to protect you.”

“You don’t have to protect me, I’m not afraid. Please don’t shut me out again, please don’t slam the door. We don’t need to keep on as we were before, you don’t need to keep your distance!"

He’d followed her up the stairs and into the main room on the top floor. Violet sighed- this was going to be harder than she’d thought.

“I finally get it now. For the first time in forever, it all makes sense. And now that I get it, I can help you get through this too. I’m here now, I’ll be here no matter what happens- you don’t have to live in fear any more, okay?”

“Look, Klaus, I appreciate that, but you need to go back home. You’ve got a life down there, it’s all still waiting for you. Just go and open the gates again, live in the sunshine. You can even marry your princess, if that’s what you want. I know that you mean well, but you shouldn't have come up here- and don’t come back, either. I may be alone up here, but I’m also free- and more than that, if I stay here, then everybody will be safe from me.”

“Yeah, about that,” Klaus said. “That’s kinda what I came up here to tell you- we’re not that safe any more.”

“What do you _mean_ you’re not that safe any more?”

“Okay, I’m guessing you don’t know what’s been going on- that’s fair, you’re kinda embracing the whole hermit lifestyle, after all.”

“Klaus, please just tell me what’s going on.”

“Arendelle’s in very., very deep snow.”

“ _What?”_ Violet exclaimed.

“You kind of set off an eternal winter, everywhere.”

“ _Everywhere?”_

“Yeah, but it’s okay, right? Cause you can just unfreeze it, can’t you?”

“No, I can’t, I don’t know how!”

“Sure you can! I know you can!”

Violet turned, feeling her hands getting cold. How could she have let this happen? How could she have been so stupid as to think that if she just ran away, there would be no repercussions? Of course there was no way of escaping this storm, of dealing with this curse she’d been given.

“We can work this out together, I can help you!” Klaus said. “You don’t have to be afraid, we can fix this!”

“Klaus, stop it, please, you’re just making this worse!” Violet snapped. Snow was swirling around the room now, getting heavier and heavier and becoming a flurry.

“It’ll be okay, we can face this together- everything’s gonna be alright, I promise!”

“No, it won’t!” she shouted, ice exploding from her hands.

Klaus

However Klaus had been expecting his reunion with Violet to go, this was so, so much worse. He hadn’t expected his sister to be so set on staying where she was, nor had he expected her to have no idea how to melt the snow or end the summer. Despite all of his efforts, he had not managed to get through to her.

When Violet’s blast of ice struck him in the chest, he sank down to the floor, reeling from the shock and pain. There was a deep feeling of cold in his chest, and he struggled to get back onto his feet.

“Klaus!” Duncan cried, running into the room and helping Klaus to his feet. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay, I’m fine,” Klaus replied, though he really wasn’t sure how true that was.

“Who’s this?” Violet asked, looking at Duncan. “Haven’t I seen you before? Wait, never mind, it’s not important. You have to go, both of you.”

“No, I know we can figure this out together,” Klaus said.

“How? What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop me?”

“Klaus, I think we should go.”

“No, I’m not leaving without you, Violet!”

“Yes, you are!”

Violet waved her hands, and a large monster made out of snow appeared in the space between her and Klaus and Duncan. Duncan stepped in front of Klaus, and they waited to see what the monster was going to do. And then the monster picked each of them up in one of its large hands and carry them out of the castle, tossing them onto the snow outside. They landed at the bottom of the staircase, and Sunny was tossed out shortly after them.

“Oh, it is not nice to throw people!” Klaus shouted, getting to his feet and getting ready to throw a snowball at the monster.

“Okay, ease up,” Duncan said. “Just, relax, okay, calm down! Just let the snowman be!”

“It’s fine, I’m okay, I’m calm,” Klaus replied. “I’m perfectly calm.”

Then he drew his arm back, and threw the snowball at the monster, and it landed on its shoulder. The monster roared, icicles appearing on its hands and feet.

“Great job, now you’ve made him mad,” Duncan snapped.

“I’ll distract him, you guys go,” Sunny said. Her body was stuck to a nearby rock, in three separate pieces. Klaus sighed, hoping she’d figure that out, and ran away.

They kept running, the monster still hot on their heels, at least until Klaus was able to halt him in his tracks by pulling back one of the trees which had been bent over in the snow. The monster was buried under the snowdrift, and for a moment it seemed like they’d win, when they reached the edge of the mountainside. Klaus looked down- they were so high up, he couldn't see the bottom.

“That’s a 100-foot drop!” he said.

“Looks more like 200,” Duncan replied.

He took his pickaxe, and dug a horseshoe shape into the snow, looping part of the rope around it. He tied more of the rope around him and Klaus.

“What’s all this for?”

“It’s a snow anchor,” Duncan replied. “That should help us get down the mountain. And if we fall, then there’s twenty feet of fresh powder down there. It’ll be like landing on a pillow… hopefully.”

“Got it,” Klaus replied, quickly taking his glasses off and putting them into his pocket, just in case they got lost on the way down.

“Right, we go on the count of three. One… Two…”

“You tell me when, I was _born_ ready to go!”

“Alright, calm down!”

Just then, a large pine tree came flying out of the forest, landing in front of the snow anchor. Thinking this was just as good a time as any to get moving, Klaus jumped off the mountain, pulling Duncan down with him.

The good news was that the snow anchor held. Together, they started to descend, and it was all working out pretty well so far.

“Hey, Klaus! Duncan!” Sunny called from the top of the mountain. “Where did you guys go?” Then her tone changed from calm to decidedly panicked. “No, stop!”

Then she came flying off the mountain, once again breaking into three pieces and disappearing.

“Sunny!” Klaus cried. “We have to go faster, let’s keep going!” he added, trying to bring them down quicker- which wasn’t easy, considering how fuzzy his vision currently was. And then they started being pulled up the mountain. “What’s going on?”

It turned out that the monster had pulled them up, knocking Duncan’s head against the rock in the process. Klaus tried to untie himself from the rope, but the knot wasn’t budging.

“Don’t come back!” the monster roared, once they were level with its face.

“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Klaus replied, cutting the rope and sending them both falling down the mountain.


	9. Chapter Eight: Fixer-Upper

Chapter Eight: Fixer Upper 

Duncan

When they landed at the bottom of the mountain, Duncan was relieved to see that his theory had been correct- they’d all landed in one piece, except for Sunny, who had landed in two pieces.

“Hey, you were right!” Klaus said, patting the snow beneath him. “It’s just like a pillow. Sunny, you okay?”

“I can’t feel my legs!” the snowbaby cried, wiggling Duncan’s feet back and forth.

“That’s cause those are my legs,” Duncan grumbled.

“Oh, right,” Sunny replied. “Hey, do me a favour and grab my butt, would you?” Duncan sighed, re-attaching Sunny’s bottom half to her top half. “That feels better!”

Just then, Moxie came up to where the three of them were sitting. Sunny jumped up, trying to give her a hug.

“Guys, look, Moxie found us!” she exclaimed, as if Duncan or Klaus could possibly have missed a giant reindeer. “Who’s my cute little reindeer?” she asked, settling for hugging one of Moxie’s legs.

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Duncan sighed, getting to his feet and helping Klaus up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, putting his glasses back on. “How’s your head?” he asked, reaching up to touch it.

“Fine, it’s fine. I’m good- I’ve got a thick skull.”

“I don’t have a skull!” Sunny remarked. “Or bones, for that matter!”

“So, um… now what?” Duncan asked.

“Now what…” Klaus echoed. “Now what?” he said, frowning. “Oh great, now what am I gonna do? She threw me out! I can’t go back to Arendelle with the weather still like this- not to mention your ice business!”

“Hey, hey, don’t worry about my ice business,” Duncan replied. He frowned, spotting something he hadn’t noticed until now. The thin white streak in Klaus’s hair had grown thicker since they’d left the castle, and a few other strands had turned white as well. “Worry about your hair!”

“What? We just fell off a cliff, you should see your hair!”

“No, yours is turning white!”

“It… it is?” Klaus asked, running a hand through it.

“It’s because she struck you, isn’t it?”

“Does it look bad?”

“… No,” Duncan replied, not quickly enough.

“You hesitated,” Sunny observed.

“No, I didn’t,” Duncan said. “Look, Klaus, you need help, okay? Let’s go, quickly.”

“Where are we going?” Klaus asked.

“To see my friends.”

“The _love experts?”_ He wiggled his fingers when he said those words, using the first two fingers on both hands, bending them down towards the palm of his hand a couple of times.

“Yes, the love experts,” Duncan replied. “And don’t wiggle your fingers when you say that. I know it sounds silly, but they will be able to fix this, I promise.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve seen them do it before.”

* * *

The more they walked, the more Klaus kept shivering. It was getting worrying- especially since, for all the snow surrounding them, it really wasn’t that cold.

“Are you cold?” Duncan asked.

“A little,” Klaus admitted.

“Come here,” Duncan said, leading him over to a spot where hot air came up from the ground. Klaus smiled, putting his hands over the heat. “I should probably give you a bit of a heads up about my friends. Cause… I call them friends, but they’re really more like family. See, when I was a kid, it was… well, I don’t really remember much, cause it was a long time ago, but I think it was just me and Moxie for a while. But then they took us in, and it all changed.”

“How old were you?” Klaus asked.

“I don’t know, five or six, maybe? That’s where my oldest memories begin.” He shrugged. “Look, it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to warn you about my family- cause they can be a little inappropriate at times, and loud, very, very loud. They’re also stubborn, and a little overbearing, and heavy- really, really heavy, but you’ll get it.”

“Duncan, they sound wonderful.”

Klaus

Finally, they reached a clearing in the woods. It was full of several round, moss-covered boulders, but that was all- there were no people, nothing alive at all except for Duncan, Klaus, Moxie and Sunny.

“Meet my family!” Duncan declared. “Hey guys,” he said, wandering around the collection of rocks.

“They’re… rocks,” Klaus said, finally. Duncan didn’t reply, he just kept talking to the rocks.

“He’s crazy,” Sunny muttered.

“Finn, looking great as usual…” Duncan continued. “Larsen, I hardly recognised you, you’ve lost so much weight!”

“I’ll distract him while you run,” Sunny hissed, before walking over to pat one of the rocks. “Hi, Duncan’s family, it’s nice to meet you!” she said, in an exaggerated loud voice. “Because I love you, Klaus, I insist you run,” she hissed, looking back at Klaus. “I understand you’re love experts?” she asked, patting the rock again. “Why aren’t you running?”

“Um, okay, well… I’m gonna go,” Klaus said, turning around.

“Wait, Klaus, don’t go!”

There were a few sounds behind him, like rocks rolling over and over, then he heard a voice cry out: “Duncan’s home!”

Klaus turned around, to see that the rocks had transformed into little grey people, with round bodies, stumpy little arms and legs and mossy hair- and beady, blinking eyes which they had fixed on Duncan. They all crowded round him, sweeping him off his feet and carrying him around the clearing.

“Look, it’s great to see you all, but where’s Grandpa Ish?” Duncan asked eventually.

“He’s napping,” replied one of the smaller rock people. “But look, I grew a mushroom!”

“I earned my fire crystal!” another rock added, holding up a glowing green crystal.

“I passed a kidney stone.”

“Duncan, Duncan, pick me up!” cried perhaps the smallest of all the rock people.

“Wow, Friday, you’re getting big! Good for you!”

Klaus looked at the rock people, remembering something he’d read in one of the harder-to-reach books in the castle library.

“They’re trolls,” he said. The trolls turned to look at him then.

“He’s brought a boy home!” one of them cried, and the rest of them took up the cry. Before Klaus knew which way was up, he was swept along on a wave of trolls and brought over to stand beside Duncan.

“What’s going on?” he asked. Duncan shrugged.

“I’ve learned to just roll with it,” he replied.

Three of the trolls stacked themselves on top of each other, and the one on the top peered closely at Klaus’s face.

“Let me see,” she said. “Bright eyes, working nose, strong teeth! Yes, yes, he’ll do nicely for our Duncan.”

Klaus took a step back. They didn’t really think that he was… that he and Duncan were… He wasn’t, of course he wasn’t- he had a fiancée, after all. A fiancée he hadn’t really thought about between his conversation with Duncan in the sled and Violet’s mention of her earlier that day. But that didn’t mean anything, did it? He’d just had a lot on his mind, like bringing back summer, and dealing with Sunny… and Duncan. But that didn’t mean anything, right?

“No, no- you’ve got the wrong idea,” Duncan said. “That’s not why I’ve brought him here.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re not… I’m not…” Klaus trailed off, really not sure how they had ended up discussing this, wanting to get away from this clearing and this conversation.

“What’s the issue, dear?” the troll asked. “Why are you holding back from such a man?”

“I’m not, I just… I’m not…” he trailed off again, not knowing what to say or how to feel about any of this.

Duncan

Duncan looked from Erewhon to Klaus, seeing how freaked out the Prince was becoming by her- and everyone else’s- assumptions.

“That’s enough, alright?” he asked, stepping forward and pushing Klaus behind him slightly. “Leave him alone, he clearly doesn’t want to talk about any of this.”

“But what is the problem? You forget what we can do- what we can see. So much turmoil, so much confusion in both of you- there’s no need for any of it, you can just let it go.”

“Yeah!” Friday chirped from the ground. “Just let go of the fear and let in the love!”

“We haven’t got time for this! We’ve got a real, actual problem here!”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Bellamy remarked. “So, dear, what is it about our Duncan that you’re having such a hard time with?”

“It’s not got anything to do with him!” Klaus snapped. “This just isn’t how it’s done! This isn’t how it’s meant to be!”

 _That explains a lot,_ Duncan thought. Klaus had seen so little of the world, he thought everything would work out as it would in a fairy story. A fairy story where everyone lived happily ever after, where the prince and the princess fell in love at first sight and got married, where even the villain wasn’t beyond saving.

Duncan wasn’t naïve- he’d always known how things would end with him and Klaus. Assuming they had found a way to end the summer, they’d go back to Arendelle and go their separate ways. Klaus would marry his princess, and Duncan would pick his ice business back up, and it would be like none of this had ever happened.

 _Princes don’t marry ice collectors,_ he reminded himself. _They don’t even love them, not really. And ice collectors don’t fall for princes. Right?_

“Look, there are at least a couple dozen reasons why nothing is ever going to happen with us,” he said finally, gesturing between him and Klaus. “But apart from anything else, Klaus is already engaged, okay?”

Erewhon just smiled, and waved her hand absently. Duncan thought for a second that he saw it glowing blue, but it must’ve been a trick of the light.

“That’s hardly the biggest obstacle in the world- attachments can be broken, after all.”

“Not all attachments,” Klaus pointed out. “Not when it’s love.”

“That’s true,” Miranda said, lifting Friday up onto a nearby boulder and hopping up to join her. “Love mends everything, in the end!”

The others all agreed, and Duncan allowed himself a small smile, hoping they might drop this and help them with the task at hand now.

Klaus

_Love mends everything in the end._ The troll’s words echoed in Klaus’s mind. Was it possible? Could that be the thing he’d been missing? But how could that be right? He loved his sister, he already knew that- he’d been following her around all his life, or at least trying to. He’d followed her all the way out here, what was that if not love?

But that hadn’t been enough, the unshakeable feeling of cold that he’d been carrying since they’d left Violet’s ice castle proved that much. So… what would be enough?

It was nice to be thinking about this and not Duncan or Carmelita. In light of everything the trolls had said so far, thinking about either his current travelling companion or the princess he’d promised to marry opened up a confusing mess of feelings he wasn’t sure he wanted to try and untangle.

It shouldn't be complicated. The princess was his happy ending- Duncan was just the person getting him from Point A to Point B and back alive. He wasn’t supposed to make him feel more alive, more free, more… himself than Carmelita did. But… this was all probably just the result of going through something so intense together. It didn’t _mean anything._ Right?

Then, as if out of nowhere, a sharp stab of pain hit his chest, and he sank to the forest floor.

Duncan

“Klaus!” Duncan exclaimed, kneeling down and gathering the prince into his arms. “You’re as cold as ice.” He hadn’t realised it was this bad- they had to do something, now.

“There is strange magic here,” a voice spoke, and another troll rolled into the group, standing in front of Duncan and Klaus.

“Grandpa Ish,” Duncan said, feeling reassured already. Grandpa Ish was the oldest and wisest of all the trolls- he was the nearest thing they had to a leader, and he hadn’t failed them yet.

“Come, come, bring him here,” he said, and Duncan brought Klaus closer. He rested a hand on the prince’s forehead, before speaking again. “Klaus, your life is in danger. There is ice in your heart, put there by your sister. If not removed, to solid ice will you freeze, forever.”

“Is there anything that can be done?” Duncan asked.

“It depends on how you look at it, I suppose. There is nothing I can do- hearts are much harder to change than heads. But there’s something you can do, Klaus. Only an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart- and that truly will depend on how you look at things, more specifically how you look at love.”

“A true love’s kiss might work?” suggested one of the trolls, who sat on a boulder, the smallest troll beside her.

Klaus reached his hand up and rested it on Duncan’s cheek. Duncan covered it with his own hand. He knew what he had to do, even if it hurt to think about.

“Klaus, we have to get you back to Carmelita,” he said, lifting Klaus up onto Moxie’s back.

“Ca... Carmelita?” His voice sounded so faint, like he was fading away already.

“Yeah,” Duncan said, climbing up onto Moxie behind Klaus. “Let’s go, Moxie,” he added. “Come on, Sunny!”

“I’m coming!” the snowbaby cried, following them away from the clearing. “Let’s go kiss Carmelita!” She paused. “Wait, who’s Carmelita?”


	10. Chapter Nine: Monster

Chapter Nine: Monster

Carmelita

Carmelita stood at the bottom of a staircase made of ice, staring up at the palace she could only assume had been made by the queen. It had been a long, difficult journey to get here, but it was finally over. Hopefully it would all be worth it.

“Remember, we are here to find Prince Klaus. Be on guard, but keep in mind, no harm is to come to the queen. Is that understood?”

“Yes, your Grace,” one of the Arendelle soldiers replied.

 _Why should you stick up for the queen?_ Hissed a tiny voice. Carmelita looked around her, trying to work out where it had come from. _What good is that monster ever going to do?_

There was nobody there- nobody besides the soldiers and volunteers she’d brought up here, many of whom were now making their way up the staircase.

 _Who are you?_ she thought, trying to think it in the direction of the voice. _What do you want?_

_Only a friend, who believes Arendelle deserves a better queen than the one it has. Someone like you, for instance._

_Well, good luck with that- I don’t want to be queen if I can avoid it._ With that, she took a step onto the staircase, and started to climb up.

Something was wrong, though- it wasn’t until a giant creature made out of snow emerged from the castle, tossing a couple of soldiers out onto the snow, that Carmelita saw what the problem was. The staircase started to shake, and Carmelita realised that she had to get off it as soon as possible before it broke. She ran the rest of the way up, ducked underneath the creature’s swinging arms and finally entered the castle.

Violet was surrounded. She had raised up several waist-high walls of ice, the tops of which were lined by sharp icicles. Additionally, one of the men Weselton had sent was pinned to the wall by another sheet of ice, while yet more icicles threatened to impale him.

 _Look at her,_ the voice whispered. _The real tragedy is that, if she were to fix what she had done somehow, I bet everyone would just forgive her and it would be as though none of this had happened. Hardly seems fair, does it?_

“Queen Violet!” Carmelita cried, blocking out the voice. “Don’t be the monster they fear you are!”

She caught a movement out the corner of her eye- Weselton’s man, the one who was pinned to the wall, raising his crossbow to strike the queen. Quickly, she darted over, ready to knock the weapon out of his hands- or at least try to. Then something happened that she couldn't possibly explain.

 _Now you’re catching on,_ the voice hissed. _Make it look like an accident…_ Suddenly, her arm seized, and it was like she wasn’t in control of it anymore. Her hand gripped the man’s arm, pointing his crossbow at the ceiling. It went off, taking down the chandelier and sending it crashing down to the floor.

 _What have I done?_ she thought, staring around at the wreckage, and at the queen who had barely managed to escape the mess.

Violet

_What have I done?_ Violet thought, taking in her surroundings. She scarcely remembered the journey back to the castle, though she thought it had been quicker than her initial journey into the North Mountain.

All she knew now was that she was in a cell, a tiny, dark room with only a bench for furniture, and her hands were covered in metal manacles, which were chained to the floor. At some point, her ribbon had fallen out of her hair, and some of the dark locks had fallen in her face. She tried shaking her head to get them out the way, but it didn’t really make a difference.

“Have you cooled down yet?” a voice asked from the doorway. Violet turned, surprised to see Princess Carmelita. “Sorry, bad joke.”

“Why did you bring me here?” Violet asked.

She wasn’t entirely sure if she could trust the princess- but that had less to do with the princess herself and more to do with the fact that she wasn’t entirely sure she could trust _anyone,_ including herself.

“Well, I couldn't just let them kill you, could I?” she replied, examining her fingernails.

“But I’m a danger to Arendelle!” Violet protested. “Where’s Klaus? Can I see him?”

“Klaus isn’t back from the mountains yet.” Carmelita sighed. “Look, if you would just stop this winter, bring back summer-”

“Don’t you get it? I can’t, I don’t know how!” her protests echoed the things she’d told Klaus when he had come to get her… before she’d struck him with her ice… She needed to get to her brother, to make sure he was alright. “You have to tell them to let me go!”

“I will do what I can,” the princess said, and left the cell, closing the door behind her.

Violet sank down onto the bench, staring down at her manacles. She had to find some way to get out of here, whatever it took. First, though, she would need to get out of these chains, even just so she could free her hands and tie her hair up so she could think more clearly.

Duncan

Duncan wasn’t sure how long they had been riding. Moxie was going as fast as she could, but it still didn’t seem like she was going fast enough. Klaus’s hair had turned almost completely white now, and he was starting to fade in and out of consciousness. It was like holding onto a block of ice instead of a person, but Duncan didn’t care. He just cared about getting them back to Arendelle before Klaus froze over completely.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said, wrapping his scarf around Klaus’s neck. “We’re almost there.”

Finally, they reached the town limits, and the castle was in sight. Sunny had been sliding most of the way beside them, and now she ran along at Moxie’s side.

“Sunny, you should probably find some place to stay out of sight,” Duncan told her.

“Sure- but I’ll find a way to meet you guys at the castle, okay?” she replied, sliding away down a street and crashing into someone’s house. The scream that followed did not suggest she was doing a great job at staying hidden.

Finally, Duncan, Klaus and Moxie reached the castle entrance. Several servants and guards came forward to meet them, and helped Duncan get Klaus down from Moxie’s back.

“Prince Klaus!” one servant cried. “You had us worried sick!”

“Get him warm,” Duncan said. “And find Princess Carmelita, immediately.”

“We will,” the servant replied. “Thank you.”

Duncan kept his eyes on Klaus for as long as he could. Then the gates closed again, and he turned to go.

“Come on, Moxie, let’s go home.”

Moxie wasn’t listening, however. She’d caught the scent of something, and before Duncan could stop her, she took off running, and all he could do was sprint after her.

Klaus

Carmelita was in the library, standing at a table in front of the fireplace. Klaus wasn’t sure what he had expected to feel when he finally saw his princess again. It was hard to really feel anything other than freezing cold- a feeling that Carmelita had to be able to fix, they had come too far and risked too much for anything else to be true.

“Klaus, are you alright?” Carmelita asked, guiding him to a couch so that he could lie down. “You’re so cold.”

“Carmelita, you have to kiss me, now!” He had to cut to the point- there was no time to waste.

“Slow down, slow down- what happened out there?”

“It was Violet… she struck me with her powers.”

“You said she would never hurt you, though.”

“I was wrong,” he replied, wincing as another stab of ice hit him. “She froze my heart, and now only an act of true love can save me.”

“Like a true love’s kiss?” she asked. She leaned in, taking hold of his chin and getting close. Klaus closed his eyes, ready for this nightmare to be over. Then she sighed, and let him go. “It’s too bad that I don’t love you, then, isn’t it?”

“ _What?”_ Klaus exclaimed. Carmelita shrugged, and walked over to the fireplace, pulling off her light pink gloves. “I thought you did.”

“Please. I was the youngest of three heirs in a kingdom where daughters were only good for one thing. I didn’t even want to come to Arendelle- but it wasn’t like I had much of a choice in the matter.”

“But I thought we… I thought…”

“What? You thought I was going to fix all your problems? Like we were _so_ in love?” she sighed. “When I realised that your kingdom gave as much power to queens as it did to kings, I knew what I had to do. And you made it so _easy-_ I barely had to lift a finger!”

“Carmelita…” Klaus tried to think of more to say, some way he could possibly fight back against this betrayal.

“Look at it this way- I’m doing you a favour. It would never have worked out, not really. You’re feeling all sorry for yourself now, but at least when I’m using someone for my own ends, I’m honest about it.”

“What… I wasn’t…”

“I think you were- even if you didn’t admit it to yourself. So really, I’m doing you a favour.” She picked up a jug of water, tipping it over the fire, extinguishing it.

“Carmelita, stop!”

“Well, enough about us, I think it’s safe to say this particular ship has sailed. Right now, I have more important things to focus on- like killing Violet and bringing summer back.”

“You’re no match for Violet,” Klaus said. He managed to get off the couch, but he couldn't find the strength to stand up any more.

“People in ice houses shouldn't throw stones,” Carmelita replied, pulling her gloves back on. “Now, I am going to save Arendelle from destruction. They need a hero- or, I suppose, a heroine- and I suppose I can step up to fill that spot.”

“You won’t get away with this,” Klaus said, even though he knew there was little to nothing he could do to stop her.

“I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?” she replied, and swept out of the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

For a moment, Klaus stayed where he was, trying to process everything that had happened. Finally, he crawled over to the door and curled up against it. What was he going to do now? What was going to happen?

 _How could I have been so stupid?_ he couldn't help thinking. _How could I have let myself get into this mess?_


	11. Chapter Ten: True Love

Chapter Ten: True Love

Carmelita

Carmelita stood for a moment with her back against the door. She wanted desperately to open the door, to light the fire, to take back all of those horrible things she’d said. But she couldn't so much as put her hand on the doorknob.

She still didn’t understand how this had happened. All she knew was that, at some point during their journey home, the voice in her head had gone from talking in her ear and moving her arm once to controlling everything she did. She didn’t move, speak or anything else unless the voice said so. She wasn’t even sure what it wanted- her attempts at learning its motivations had been useless so far. All it seemed to want to do was make her life miserable.

 _Let me go!_ she screamed. It felt like she was stuck behind a locked door, pounding against the wood, trying desperately to get out. _Let me go back and fix what I did!_

_No- now, come along, our work is far from over._

Back down the corridor, to the meeting room, where everyone was waiting to hear what had happened, trying to decide what to do next.

“Princess Carmelita!” one of the foreign ambassadors cried.

“Prince Klaus is… dead,” she replied. The words were not her own, though- nothing was her own now.   
  
“What? What happened to him?” the ambassador asked.

“He was killed… by Queen Violet.”

“No! How could his own sister do such a thing?”

“At least we got to say our marriage vows, before he died in my arms.”

 _You can’t really believe this, can you?!_ she screamed. _I killed him, I didn’t want to, but I did! Now help me get out of here so I can try to make it right!_

“There can be no doubt now.” This came from the Count, who sat in one of the chairs, looking far too calm under the circumstances. “Queen Violet is a monster, and we are all in grave danger.” Carmelita thought she saw his eyes shining as he stood up. “Princess Carmelita, Arendelle looks to you now.”

“With a heavy heart,” Carmelita replied, “I charge Queen Violet of Arendelle with treason, and sentence her to death.”

They headed straight to Violet’s cell, only to find that the door had been frozen shut. By the time they busted it open, the cell was empty. The wall facing the outside had a hole through it- and while it wasn’t entirely sure what had caused it, Carmelita guessed it was a combination of the ice that had crawled all over the remains of the walls and the bench that was lying upside down near the hole.

 _She must’ve used that as a battering ram,_ the voice said. _Hinders our plans, but you have to admire the quick thinking._

 _Please let this be over soon,_ Carmelita thought, looking through the hole. _I just want this to be over so I can go home._

Duncan

By the time Duncan caught up to Moxie, she was lying on the ground, and there was a man leaning over her, scratching her behind the ears. His face was hidden beneath his dark purple hood, but still, there was something weirdly familiar about him.

“There you are, Moxie! There you are, girl! Oh, I thought I’d never see you again!”

Duncan took a small step back. The man had his voice- how could a stranger have his voice?

“Wait,” the man said. “If you’re here, then where’s…”

At that moment, he straightened up, his hood falling away to reveal that his face was the mirror image of Duncan’s. How was this possible? What was happening? The man’s face broke into a smile, then, as he took Duncan in.

“Duncan!” he cried, crossing the small distance between them and throwing his arms around him. “I can’t believe it! I thought you were dead! I… Where have you been?”

“Slow down!” Duncan snapped, breaking free of the embrace. “Who are you? What’s going on?”

“What do you _mean_ who am I?” The man stared at him for a moment. “I’m Quigley, your brother! You…” he trailed off. “You’re not joking, are you? You really don’t know?”

“I really don’t,” Duncan replied. Quigley was quiet for a moment, before nodding, determined.

“In that case, you’d better come with me, it’s too cold to be standing around here talking.”

Duncan hesitated a moment, before deciding to follow. A need he hadn’t felt in a while was stirring inside him- a need to investigate, to understand, to know every part of this mystery. Simply put, he _had_ to go, there was no other option.

Quigley brought them to a decent-sized house in the town, with two floors, a tall, pointed roof, and a lean-to against one wall, where Moxie quickly got settled in.

“We always hoped you’d be back,” he explained. “Both of you- so we made this lean-to for Moxie, and whenever we bought things, we tried to get them in sets of three, so you wouldn’t be lacking for anything when you came home.”

Once they’d taken off their jackets and hats and gloves, Quigley directed Duncan to sit down at the table in the middle of the main room, and made them both cups of hot cocoa. While he waited, Duncan stared down at the table, trying to understand how this could’ve happened. All this time he’d had a family, a family that had been waiting for him to come home… How could he have forgotten?

“How could I have forgotten you?” he asked, as Quigley set their mugs down on the table and sat across from him. “Not just you, either- there’s someone else I’ve forgotten, too, cause you talked about sets of three, and _we,_ so, how could I forget them too?”

“Well, maybe you hit your head or something? Do you remember where you went, the day you went missing?”

“I was in the woods,” he said. “I was in this clearing in the woods, and-” He stopped, realising something. “The head, that’s it! Grandpa Ish said that heads could be changed! That’s-”

It was all fitting together, now. The trolls had found him in the woods that day, hadn’t they? They’d changed his memories, made him think he was alone, an orphan… Duncan was pretty sure he had never felt as angry as he did right now.

“I don’t understand,” Quigley said. “Who’s Grandpa Ish?”

“A troll,” Duncan replied, practically spitting the words out. “A proper one, like in the stories. And he, or one of his friends, must’ve done something to my head, made me think I didn’t have a family.”

He got to his feet, ready to ride straight back to the clearing and give those trolls a piece of his mind, when the cottage door opened, and he was distracted from his anger for a moment.

A woman stood in the doorway, her face nearly identical to Duncan and Quigley’s. She was dressed in a black dress and cloak, and carried a basket over her arm. When she saw Duncan, though, the basket fell to the floor and she ran over to hug him.

“I thought I’d never see you again!” she exclaimed.

“Isadora, we have a bit of a problem- his memories got taken shortly after he was taken,” Quigley explained.

“How could that happen?” the woman- Isadora- asked. “That’s impossible, right?”

“We’re in the middle of a magical blizzard, there’s a little girl made of snow somewhere nearby, and I spent most of my journey back here watching as Prince Klaus slowly froze to death, literally. As angry as I am about my missing memories, it’s hardly the most impossible thing I’ve seen in the last couple days.”

“Okay, there’s a lot to unpack there,” Quigley said after a minute. “Actually, there’s… there’s a lot to unpack here in general. But we’re together, now, and we can get through this.” He looked straight at Duncan. “I am so, so sorry, Duncan. I know we’re triplets, so it doesn’t really matter, but I’m still the oldest, I should’ve taken better care of you.”

“It’s okay,” Duncan replied.

He was about to say more, when he saw the storm pick up even fiercer outside the window. Something was wrong- something that, with what could only be described as a gut feeling, he knew had something to do with Klaus.

“I have to go,” he said, breaking away from his sister and starting to gather his stuff.

“You can’t! You just got back, you can’t just-” Isadora protested.

“I _have to,”_ he reaffirmed. “Klaus is in danger, I just know it- I have to help him.”

“Klaus? As in the prince?” Quigley asked. “You’re really going to pick the prince over your own family?”

“I’ll come back,” he said. “I promise- I just, I have to do this. I…” he paused, before finally letting himself admit something he should’ve admitted long ago. “I love him.”

“Then we’re going with you,” Quigley said, getting to his feet. “We can’t lose you again- if that means following you into the storm, then we will.”

Duncan looked at the two of them- these two who were strangers to him by all accounts, but to whom he already felt a connection, even if it was fragile and flimsy. His family wasn’t what he’d thought it was- _he_ wasn’t what he’d thought he was. But he could worry about that later. Right now, he had to find Klaus, had to heal his frozen heart- and he’d probably need all the help he could get if he was going to do that.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Klaus

Klaus wasn’t sure how long he had been curled up against the door. He hadn’t thought he could get any colder, any more miserable- but with each minute, the ice seemed to spread even further.

 _I’m gonna be here till I die, aren’t I?_ He thought. _I don’t even know how much longer I have, come to think of it._

He was about to try and crawl over to the table, where a few books sat- if he was going to die, maybe he could at least spend his last hours doing something he loved. Assuming he still had more than one hour, of course.

 _Remember that book you read last month?_ He asked himself. _The one with that deadly mushroom? That thing was meant to kill within the hour- you’re already better off than you would’ve been if you’d been infected with that instead, you’ve had several hours._

He sighed- trying to find a silver lining was pretty futile. There didn’t seem to be one to find- after all, even the mushroom had had a proper cure, it hadn’t relied on some flowery nonsense about acts of true love. Fat lot of good that had done in the end, hadn’t it?

Right then, the door swung open. Klaus shuffled out of the way, more than a little surprised to see a bright orange carrot sticking out of the lock on the other side of the door.

“You know, I hadn’t thought that would work- I guess food really does fix everything!” Sunny chirped, running into the room. “Wow, Klaus, you look horrible!”

“Thanks, Sunshine, I appreciate it,” he replied, handing her back her carrot.

“Let’s get that fire lit up,” she said, bouncing over to the fire and dumping several logs onto it. Using one of her fingers to strike a match, she lit the fire. “This is heat! This is a fire! I love it!”

“Sunny, get back from there,” Klaus said, watching as she did indeed take a couple steps back.

“We should get marshmallows later,” she said. “Or sausages, maybe- I bet there’s a ton of stuff you could make with fire!”

“Sunny, we don’t really have a later,” Klaus explained. “At least, I don’t. Not any more.”

“But what happened to kissing Carmelita?” she asked.

“I got it wrong,” he said. “I got it so, so wrong- it wasn’t true love.”

“But we ran all the way here!”

“Sunny, please, you can’t stay here, you’re gonna melt!” Already she was starting to drip, drops of water hitting the carpet.

“No, no, I’m not going anywhere until we find some other act of true love to save you. You’re like a family person to me now, I won’t let you die without a fight.”

“Do you mean I'm like a brother?”

“Is that what they’re called?” Klaus nodded. “Right, then, you’re my big brother, and that means that I’m gonna find some way to save you.” She paused. “You don’t happen to have any ideas, do you?”

“I don’t even know what love is any more,” Klaus replied.

“That’s okay, cause I think I do. Love is when you put someone else’s needs before your own- like how Duncan dropped everything after you got struck, and took you to get help, and took your side over his family’s, and-”

“I get it,” he said, holding up his hand. “So, you’re saying Duncan loves me?”

“It does seem that way, yeah,” she replied. “Thing is, though, do you feel the same? Maybe that’s the trick- maybe it needs to go both ways to really work.”

Klaus thought about it- though he didn’t need to think about it for very long. He’d fought against the suggestion that he could have feelings for Duncan, or vice versa, back when the trolls had first brought it up. Now, he realised that hadn’t really had anything to do with Duncan- really, it had been to do with him, and how much he’d wanted his life to pan out like the stories, to the point where he had latched onto the first person who would fit that ideal, and hidden from the merest suggestion that his own heart might lie elsewhere.

But there wasn’t time to run and hide any more- life was so short, he hadn’t realised how short it really was until now. He had to face the truth, and the truth was… that Sunny was well and truly melting, one side of her face starting to droop slightly.

“Sunny, you’re melting!” he exclaimed.

“Some people are worth melting for,” she replied, with a shrug. “Although, maybe now’s not the time for that,” she added, holding her face up and stepping back from the fire.

Suddenly, one of the library windows burst open, letting in an icy cold breeze. Klaus scarcely felt it at this point, but Sunny darted over to close the window regardless.

“I can see something!” she cried, bouncing up and down on the window seat. “I think it’s… yeah, it’s Duncan and Moxie!”

“It is?” Klaus asked, allowing himself a small flicker of hope.

“Yeah, I think so! There’s a couple others on Moxie’s back, but it’s definitely still her, and that’s definitely Duncan she’s carrying. They’re heading back to the castle right now!”

“Well, let’s go meet them halfway,” he said. “Sunny, help me up.”

“No, no, no, you have to stay here by the fire, and keep warm.”

“No- I need to go find Duncan.”

“Why?” Sunny asked, tilting her head to one side. Then she smiled, her coal eyes wide with excitement. “Oh, I get it! Your act of true love is heading this way! You’re gonna be okay after all!”

Klaus nodded, the brief flicker of hope already growing stronger. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay, they were going to fix this. They just had to get to Duncan, and everything would be fine.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Colder By The Minute

Chapter Twelve: Colder By The Minute 

Klaus

Getting out of the library was the easy part. But no sooner had they closed the door then Klaus realised that their troubles had just begun. Ice had formed up the walls of the corridor outside. If they turned left, they’d get out of the castle quicker- but when Klaus turned in that direction, he found the way blocked by several thin, spiky-looking icicles.

“Look out!” Sunny shouted, as another icicle descended from the ceiling, almost touching Klaus’s head. The icicles around them grew thicker, more dangerous looking. “Um, let’s try going this way!” she directed, tugging Klaus down the other end of the corridor.

More icicles emerged there too, blocking their path in that direction as well. There was nowhere else to go, nowhere except… Klaus looked out the window, which was covered in frost.

“We can still get out,” he said, mustering a little of his remaining strength and walking over to the window, shoving it open.

They were pretty high off the ground, which would be worrying, were it not for the snow that had piled up against the castle walls.

“Come on, let’s go!” Sunny cried, jumping out the window and starting to roll down the snow bank. Klaus took a deep breath and jumped after her, though he slid, rather than rolled. “We made it!” Sunny cheered, once they’d reached the bottom, quickly shaking off the excess snow she’d gathered during her trip down.

Now they just had to hope they could find Duncan, before it was too late. Only problem was, Klaus wasn’t entirely sure where they had ended up. They were on the other side of the castle from the window Sunny had looked through, and their journey down the snow bank seemed to have taken them beyond the castle walls, out onto the fjord.

 _Just keep walking,_ he told himself. _Just keep going for as long as you can- you know he’s out here somewhere, you just have to find him._

Duncan

They followed Moxie’s nose- it probably wasn’t the best plan, but the reindeer had already brought the three of them together, maybe she could bring another miracle.

“She’s leading us away from the castle,” Isadora observed. She sat in the back, Quigley sat in the middle, and Duncan sat in the front, hanging onto the reindeer’s neck. It was a bit of a squeeze, but it was the fastest way they could all travel together.

“We’re going out onto the fjords,” Quigley added. Duncan said nothing- he didn’t care where Moxie took them, so long as it brought them to Klaus before it was too late.

The storm picked up around them, clouds of ice obscuring the ships which were trapped in the fjord. Isadora and Quigley hid their faces from the storm, but Duncan kept looking ahead the best he could, only holding up an arm to shield his eyes from the worst of it.

“Are we getting any closer?” he asked Moxie, who just shook her head and kept running.

It was going about as well as it could when a large ship emerged just ahead of them. As they got closer, it started to tilt dangerously towards them, and by the time they reached it, it had started to fall down to the ice below. Isadora held on tighter to Quigley, Quigley held on tighter to Duncan, and Duncan held on tighter to Moxie, as he tried to steer them through the falling barrels and other various flying debris that was coming off the ship.

Finally, they reached the other side- which was when the ice, already broken from the ship crashing, started to crack beneath Moxie’s hooves. Duncan tried to get them to a more solid part of the ice, but before he could, it cracked suddenly beneath them.

The three triplets were thrown from Moxie’s back with the impact, landing on solid ice a few feet away. The reindeer clung to a larger piece of ice floating in the water.

“Stay there, girl, we’ll come get you when this is over!” Duncan cried, getting to his feet and helping his siblings up.

They kept running, Duncan calling out Klaus’s name and listening for a response. He heard nothing, but nevertheless, he knew he had to keep trying.

“If… if anything goes wrong,” he said, in-between shouts, “I just wanna tell you guys, I forgive you, you know, for everything. I don’t blame either of you for not finding me sooner.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” Isadora replied. “We’ll be out of this mess before long.”

Duncan smiled, a lost memory clicking into place. His sister had always loved poetry- had that been where that rhyme about the finish not being half as fun come from?

There was no time to think about that, though, they had to keep going. Who knew how much time they had left to fix this?

Carmelita

Even through all the wind and snow, the queen was impossible to miss. Carmelita saw her dark purple cape whipping in the breeze, and whatever power was controlling her did the rest.

“Violet!” she cried, wishing desperately for her voice to belong to her again so that she could at least try to help the queen, rather than destroy her. “You can’t run from this forever!”

“Just take care of my brother,” Violet said, turning to face her. She’d pulled her hair back with a ribbon, and her icy eyes were filled with fear.

“Your brother? He returned from the mountain, weak and cold- he said that you froze his heart!”

“No,” Violet breathed, taking a step back.

“I tried to save him, but it was too late- his skin was ice, his hair had turned white. Your brother is dead, and it’s…” She took a deep breath before continuing. “It’s all our fault.”

“No!” the queen cried, collapsing to the ground. And at that moment, the storm stood still for the first time.

 _What are you doing?_ The voice hissed. _Why would you admit that? How can you even admit that? You’ve got no voice! Never mind, just draw your sword and finish this!_

Her hand went down to the sword she had been given when she’d left Arendelle, just in case of emergencies. She didn’t even know how to use it, but that hardly seemed to matter now. Sword drawn, her arms now started to raise it, ready to bring it down on the queen who was huddled on the ground. Her ribbon had fallen out, her long dark hair hiding her face like a curtain.

 _Wait,_ she thought. _I got my voice back, just for a moment. Maybe I could get my hands back, too._ She focused on the blade, on holding it still. Her arm tugged downwards, trying to bring it down to strike Violet. With all the strength she could muster, Carmelita tugged it back up. _It’s working! Maybe Klaus’s curse isn’t the only one that can be broken!_

_What are you doing? Strike!_

_No._ And for the first time, the princess of the Southern Isles stood her ground. _No, I won’t! You were able to take me over cause it was easy. You took my hands, cause their purpose was already decided. You took my voice, cause it wasn’t like I was saying anything useful anyway, right? But no more. I won’t be silent any more._

She closed her eyes and raised the sword, ready to throw it as far away as she could, when somebody knocked it clean out of her hand.

Klaus

While all of this had been going on, Klaus had stumbled out onto the ice. Sunny had been blown away in the storm, but there was no time to think about that now.

 _Keep moving,_ he told himself. _Don’t stop, don’t rest- Duncan’s still out there, you have to find him before it’s too late._

He looked down- ice was starting to appear on his hands. Time was running out, but he couldn't give up now. Then frost started to creep over the lenses of his glasses. Quickly, he took them off, hiding them in his pocket. It wasn’t as though he could really see anything anyway, the storm was too thick for that.

And then the storm stood still, and he could see three figures ahead of him. It was difficult to tell who they were from here- one wore black, one purple, and the one in the middle wore green.

“Duncan?” he shouted.

“Klaus!” Duncan cried, and took off running in his direction.

Klaus started to walk forward, trying to meet him halfway- and then a noise to his left caught his attention. It sounded like someone weeping. He turned to face the noise, and saw a girl dressed in purple curled on the floor, another girl wearing a pink gown standing above her, a sword held high in her hand. They were closer, he could see them a bit more clearly. But even if they hadn’t, he’d recognise his sister anywhere. He knew what he had to do, no matter what it cost.

“Violet!” he cried, and, summoning the last of his strength, ran to where she was huddled, and knocked the blade from Princess Carmelita’s hand. It was the last thing he did before the ice took over completely, and he froze where he stood.

Violet

Shakily, Violet got to her feet. Had she been imagining it, or had that really been her brother who’d cried out? Slowly, she turned around, and saw that Klaus was there- but he had frozen completely solid.

“Klaus!” she screamed.

 _This is all my fault,_ she thought, as she peered into her little brother’s face, trying to find some sign of life. _It’s happened again, only it’s so much worse now- and nobody can fix it now. It’s too late._

She threw her arms around him, and started to cry, feeling as though she’d never stop. She was barely aware of anything beyond her own grief- not the storm, not anyone else in the world…

Not even the warmth beginning to spread through Klaus’s body, or the way it was already turning back to flesh and blood in her arms.

Klaus

The warmth began in Klaus’s chest, the same place where the cold that had come before it began. It spread much faster than the cold had, though, and within seconds, he had unfrozen completely.

Klaus smiled, scarcely able to believe that this had really happened. The ice was gone completely, and he was alive, and free. As his senses came back to him, he became aware that Violet was hugging him tightly, crying into his shoulder.

“It’s alright,” he said, rubbing her back. “It’s alright, we’re okay now.”

Violet pulled back then, her gaze fixed on Klaus’s face. His vision was still blurry, and he reached into his pocket for his glasses, putting them back on.

“You sacrificed yourself for me?” Violet asked, holding both of his hands.

“Of course I did,” Klaus replied. “I love you.” Somewhere behind them, Sunny gasped.

“ _An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart!_ ” she cried, clapping her tiny hands.

“ _Love will thaw,”_ Violet said, letting go of Klaus’s hands and looking down at her own palms. “Love! Of course!”

“Violet?” he asked, watching as a dark purple ribbon appeared in his sister’s hands, and she used it to tie her hair back.

Violet waved her hands, and the ice that covered the fjord began to melt. The ground below them became the deck of a ship, and all around them, snow lifted from the ground, from the buildings and trees and boats. The clouds above disappeared, the sun appearing for the first time since the day of the coronation.

Finally, Violet gathered all of the snow together, a large, light blue snowflake forming above her head. She waved her hands one last time, and the snowflake disappeared.

“That was brilliant!” a voice exclaimed.

Klaus turned, finally facing Duncan. He wasn’t alone- Moxie was there, as well as a near-identical man and woman, who stood on either side of him, the man dressed in purple, the woman in black. It was the man in purple who had spoken, who was now watching Violet with wide eyes.

“Oh!” Duncan said, gesturing first to the man, then to the woman. “This is my brother, Quigley, and my sister, Isadora.”

“I didn’t know you had siblings,” Klaus replied.

It was such a hopelessly inadequate thing to say- especially since, barely ten minutes ago, he’d been desperate to find Duncan, knowing that he was the only one who could save him. Now, though, now that the ice was gone and Klaus had managed to save himself, he couldn't think of what to say.

“Neither did I,” Duncan said. “I just found them today.”

“Wow, this day just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?” Sunny said. “Which is nice, cause it’s also probably my last.”

Klaus turned to look at her, and let out a gasp when he saw that she had almost completely melted in the summer sun.

“It’s okay, Sunny, I’ve got you,” Violet said, waving her hand. Sunny reformed, a small snow cloud appearing above her head.

“Look! My own personal flurry!” she cheered, bouncing up and down on the deck.

Just then, a groaning noise caught Klaus’s attention. He looked to where it was coming from, and saw Carmelita in the corner, struggling to get back to her feet.

Violet and Duncan both spotted the princess at that moment too, and they both glared at her, looking like they wanted to throw her into the fjord. Klaus sighed, and held up his hand.

“Let me handle this,” he said, walking over to where the princess stood.

She looked so different from the girl he’d met just days ago- her cloak and skirt were torn and splattered with mud, and her red braids had almost entirely come undone. But even if that hadn’t been the case, Klaus knew, deep down, that he wouldn’t have seen the princess the same way as he had at first. _I’d been lying to myself, pretending to be something I wasn’t- not any more, though._

“Klaus,” Carmelita said, a tiny smile on her face. “You’re alright, I thought-”

“I don’t want to know what you thought,” Klaus snapped. “I don’t want to know what you were thinking, raising your sword to my sister, leaving me alone to die, but-”

“That wasn’t me!” she protested. “I know… I know it sounds crazy, and I don’t expect you to believe me, but it’s true. I know that’s no excuse for what I did, I just… I just want you to know, I didn’t want to hurt either of you, and I’m so, so sorry that I did.”

Klaus stared at her, trying to process everything that she’d just said. Her story really didn’t make sense, but at the same time, she didn’t seem to be lying. For the first time, neither of them was lying or pretending to be something they weren’t. Their first truly honest conversation- and it would also be their last.

“I think you should go home, Carmelita,” he said, eventually.

“I can’t- I can’t go back, knowing I’ve failed. What am I meant to say to my father, to my family?”

“You’ll have to figure that out yourself.” He sighed. “The fact is, whether you meant any harm or not, what you did out there verged on an act of war. You can’t stay here- if you leave now, we’ll say no more about it, though.” He thought for a moment, before continuing. “Go home, Carmelita- talk to your family, talk to your cousins. If you wanna do something positive with your life, why don’t you start there?”

He remembered what she’d said about her cousins- they wouldn’t hear about this, at least not from Klaus. Either way, though, it really was for the best that she went home.

“Alright,” she said, after a moment. “Klaus? Do you think… I know it’s safe to say the marriage is off now, but do you think that someday, we could be friends?”

“Maybe,” he replied. “Of course, it probably is for the best we’re not getting married. Cause you were right about something, at least- it never would’ve worked out in the long run.”

The princess nodded, and Klaus turned away from her, walking back to join his sister- or should that be sisters, plural, now that they had Sunny?- and Duncan, and his siblings. Violet was talking to Quigley and Isadora, apologising to them for something that had happened the evening of the coronation ball, while they were both assuring her there was nothing to apologise for. Klaus went to stand beside Duncan, taking hold of his hand.

“Thanks for coming back for me,” he said.

“Don’t mention it- it was the least I could do,” Duncan replied, raising Klaus’s hand and kissing the back of it.

Klaus blushed- there really was something to be said for this true love business after all, it seemed. He was about to say something to that effect when Sunny came darting past, running over to the steering wheel of the ship.

“Hey, you guys don’t happen to know how to move a ship, do you?”

“Don’t worry, Sunshine, there’s a couple of lifeboats we can take to shore,” Violet explained.

Klaus, Violet, Sunny and Carmelita took one lifeboat, Duncan, Isadora, Quigley and Moxie the other, and together, they rode back to the shore, each knowing, in their own way, that nothing would ever be the same again.


End file.
